Faces of Christmas 2011

As I was looking through our Christmas pictures from this year, I saw some themes through the facial expressions of our kids (& our dog).

Sleepy Faces:

Excited Faces:

 Engaged Faces:

Grumpy girl & Mischievous brother faces:

 

What about you? Did you see any of these facial expressions in your house this Christmas?

Christmas Break 2011

Friday was our last day of school before our two week Christmas break. My favorite part of being on break from school is that there is no alarm clock! We've been enjoying our time off. Here's how we've been spending our time:
The kids spoke to Santa during our trip to Tuscaloosa last weekend. I'm pretty sure that the kids changed up their lists for what they asked for during this visit. 

Hubby is the grandson of a baker. He likes to get out the 'ol family recipes at Christmas. These are "Grandma's Cookies" which I was told that I had to marry into the family before I could have the recipe:

These are "Chocolate Drop Cookies:"

What else? Well, today Hubby and Our Boy went to volunteer at the food bank with the 3rd-5th graders at our church. They both enjoy serving here. This was their 3rd time going to volunteer.

Our Girl and I stayed home today. You have to be 8 years old to serve at the food bank, and she's not quite there yet. She also has a cold with a stuffy nose and yucky cough. Seems like both of the kids always get sick on this break from school. Our Boy missed 3 days of school last week, and now Our Girl is sick.

While we were home today, I gave Our Girl Rudolph toes...got the idea from Pinterest (of course)!

We also wrapped presents while we listened to Handel's Messiah and some Bieber too!

We're looking forward to the Christmas Eve Service at church, and being with both sides of our family this Christmas. We are blessed. Merry CHRISTmas to you!

You Can't Make This Stuff Up-Part 3

This is Part 3 of my You Can't Make This Stuff Up re-cap from our trip to Tuscaloosa for my sister's graduation. Part 1 is an account of our hotel; Part 2 is an account of our waitress; and Part 3 is an account of well...poop. Yes, I'm afraid you read that correctly...poop.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel briefly. Then we decided to go out again. So we were all 7 (my parents, sister, children, Hubby, & I) walking to our car. The kids and I were riding in the back. As I was walking to the car I stepped in something squishy. Gross! As I got in the car, I said "Hey kids, watch out right here...there's something squishy." Then I crawled all through the car to back seat. The kids got in next. Our Girl started saying, "Ewwww...what is that smell??!?!?!" I started smelling the kids. "Mom, It's not me!" No, it wasn't the kids. The squishy stuff I stepped in??? Yep, you guessed it...I stepped in poop!! I tracked it on the floor mats all the way to the back of the car! We had no idea that the hotel where we stayed allowed pets. Hmmm...maybe that's why the rooms smelled bad too!

So...my sister, E, swung into action ripping out the floor mats. I handed her my shoes. Ewww...I handed her my purse that I sat on the floor! Ewww! She scrapped off my shoe on the parking curb. Then Our Boy stood on the very same curb. Yep, poop on his shoes too! A Poop-o-rama!

Hubby and E took the floor mats to our "nice" bathroom to clean them. But, guess what? As they started cleaning, the tub wouldn't drain! Gross to grosser!!!! You CAN'T make this stuff up!!!!!

So...see this girl with the doctorate degree? Well...who would have thought she'd be cleaning  poop on her gradution weekend. We had to keep her real, right? Congrats & Best Wishes to the graduate! We love you E!

You Can't Make This Stuff Up-Part 2

See this Grand Buffet Grill & Gift Shop? We tried to tell Hubby that the online booking of our hotel was a package deal where it included dinner here.

See how now I'm in on the action with my sister & my parents? I think it's a coping strategy for the pure awfulness of the situation.

Hubby didn't go for it.

So...back to the story...there we are at the diner restaurant with the waitress that I told you about in Part 1 of this story. Here's her story (you can't make this stuff up):

I'm from Alabama, but I moved to Georgia to follow my parents. Lived in GA for thirteen years. Worst mistake I ever made was buying a trailer next to Atlanta Motor Speedway. My son...he served some time in prison in GA. You know burglary is a bad word. He don't have a mean bone in his body. He does have over 100 tattoos all over his body.

My parents moved back home to Alabama, and I did too. Now I have my son back in Alabama with me. Got his parole transferred to Alabama. Now he works in a tattoo place close to here. He did all his own tattoo's on homemade equipment, and the guy who hired him told him to "just think of what he'll be able to do with professional equipment."

Then my Dad tells the waitress..."You know we only have one race in Atlanta now. They took one away from Atlanta Motor Speedway."

Her response: "That sucks. That brought in a lot of revenue."

She went on: You know I followed my parents back home, and then they left again and moved to Florida. Said they had better doctors there.

Bless her heart...you can't make this stuff up.

Think this day is over? Well, the answer in no. Check back for Part 3 in the next post.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up-Part 1

This weekend my sister, "E," graduated with her doctorate degree from The University of Alabama. We (my parents, Hubby, Our Boy, Our Girl, and I) traveled to Tuscaloosa to be with her for this special day. So...all of that is very believable...this was my sister's 4th college degree (1 bachelors degree, 2 masters degrees, and now her doctorate)...she likes to learn and has always done well in school.  Our family is close and supportive...again...not a surprise that we would all want to be with her on her special day. That's about where the normal, believable part of this weekend stops; the rest of it seems like fiction...but it is all true.

Here's Part 1 of our "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" weekend:

When Hubby, the kids, and I got into town, we called E & my parents to let them know that we were close. They said that they were on the way back to the hotel and they had air freshener for our room. I told them they were kidding, and they laughed and assured me that they were not kidding. They said they'd gotten us the best room after looking at 4 rooms prior to picking this one for us. E booked our hotel rooms using an online service where you can't get out of it once you get there and see how the rooms really look (or how they really smell).  

So, we got there & it was as bad as they said...you can't make this stuff up! But, we told ourselves that we wouldn't be there long and we could make it. It was time to go to dinner. E picked the restaurant. Her first nursing job was in Tuscaloosa, and she lived there for about 2 years. The restaurant she picked was a diner with good Southern food that we had been to before. The waitress is where this story gets better (or worse).

Our waitress was petite. She had brown hair with bangs. Let's just say that she had the look of someone who had experience with life, and let's just say that she shared all of her worldly knowledge with us (including our 8 year old son and 7 year old daughter). Check back for Part 2 in my next post to find out more about her stories of stuff that you can't make up!

Crafting, Cooking, & a Chorus Concert

What's been going on around here? I'll tell you...it's Crafting, Cooking, & a Chorus Concert.

We made canvases and Christmas ornaments. I saw a project on Pinterest with the green and red dots, and I saw one with reindeer made from the kids hand prints. So, we combined those ideas to make canvases and Christmas ornaments. Here's a canvas:

Our Boy made this elf in art class at school. I love how he added details like a belt.

Our Girl made this angel in art class. I love how the angel has on high heels and a necklace.

I made these yummy treats for a teacher party. They are more work than you'd think!

And Our Boy had his Christmas chorus concert. He even surprised us by being part of the dance team:

It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas around here!

9 Nights Away

Tonight is the first night that the kids have spent in our house since last Thursday-9 nights away from home. Why you ask? Hubby has been working on hardwood floors for the bedrooms. He laid raw wood floors and stained them in the bedrooms. Then he urethaned the whole house. We had to stay off of the floors with no heavy furniture for 7 days. He finished them last Sunday...so that makes today 7 days off of them. 

Here's our girl's room with the raw floors: 

And our boy's room with raw floors:

Here's our girl's room completed:

Here's our boy's room completed:

And here's our room completed:

We're thankful for our families for letting us crash with them this week! The great thing about this project is that everything got dusted and cleaned! Everything went in garage for the week, and then everything had to come back in this weekend. It's like we're moving except it's back into the same house. I've gotten lots organized and tried to de-clutter too. The rough part about this project is that we're "wore slap out!"

Yesterday Hubby and I worked from morning to midnight. We skipped breakfast and lunch, and finally had to make time for dinner. Then we got up and started again this morning. There is still more to do, but it will have to wait for another day.
It's nice to have everyone home after 9 nights away. I'm sure we'll all sleep well in our own beds. Wishing you all a good night!

"May You All Live To Be 94"

Last Sunday, we celebrated my grandmother's 94th birthday. My cousins came to town from Virginia and Maryland to celebrate. All four of her granddaughters and her two great-grandchildren went to church with her.

After ushering at their church, my parents joined us for lunch.

GG with her great-grandchildren

The kids with my parents

After lunch, the kids went in the yard to find pecans.

They each found a few

Then they sat outside to crack their pecans

After lunch, GG said..."May you all live to be 94." Happy Birthday GG!

Tragedy Averted

Last month, Our Girl turned 7!! Wow...hard to believe, but true nonetheless. So, she's been asking for an American Girl doll. She hasn't really ever been that interested in dolls...so I wasn't sure about spending $100 on a doll for her. Well...her grandmother and aunt gave her birthday money to finally buy one.


Our Girl decided on the "My American Girl" doll with brown hair, blue eyes, and freckles to look like her. We even took her to the American Girl Bistro for lunch. She picked out two outfits from her Daddy and me. Then she spent her allowance to get the doll's ears pierced and to get the doll's hair "done."

Our Girl LOVES her girl! As soon as she gets up in the morning, she gets her doll up. When she goes to bed, the doll goes to bed. She takes her everywhere...to school, to go out to eat, everywhere. Well, last Sunday...Our Girl took her doll to church with my encouragement.

During the sermon, Our Girl came to me with HUGE crocodile tears streaming down her face & with a doll with blue ink all over her face. I'm still not exactly sure what happened. I looked online & found a site that said to rub the marks with cooking oil. As soon as we got home, I gave it a try...and...well...she's good as new! See for yourself:




Sooooo thankful that a tragedy was averted!

Road Trip

On Saturday, we took a road trip to support Coach Gritti and the Rhodes Lynx against the Birmingham Southern Panthers in Birmingham. We arrived in Birmingham just in time for lunch. What did we find to eat? Well...it was the dining hall at Birmingham Southern. Hubby loved it!! He thought he was back at UGA with the meal plan!

He was talking it up to the kids making this guy ready for college!
After lunch, it was time to head to the game. Here's our girl cheering on the team.
Our boy and Hubby were on the sidelines during the game getting an ear full of language from what I understand. Things like the "s word"..."stupid."

Our boy was excited because he got to run on the field to retrieve the tee!
Our girl was excited because she wore her new red sweater dress!
My whole family went to game. Here's a pic of the group:.
The kids with DoDo & EJ (my parents):
The kids with their E (my sister):
Our family:
A girl and her daddy:
Our boy said that there were two great things about the whole day: one was good and one was gross. The good was that he got his picture made with Coach Gritti, and the gross was that there was a dead rat on the track. Well...there you have it!