So Very Busy.....

This time of year is always so busy for me. I work more, I clean my house more, I go on a purging spree (sorry, kids, toys gotta go) and I am busy planning for the holidays. I have the kids this Thanksgiving, which means I am making Thanksgiving dinner, and I always make tons of food. I have an open door policy during the holidays, which means anyone can stop by, no need to call ahead. The way it should be. :)

My attitude is totally different this year than last year. Last year was very hard on me. I never really told anyone how I was feeling because I was so focused on "surviving" aka living. When my ex-husband lost his job it sent me for a whorl. We went from never having to worry or want for anything, to me spending my savings on trying to keep things the way I thought they should be, to make sure the kids got everything they wanted whenever they wanted. Somewhere along the way I lost focus on what was important, not things, not money, these things are not important. Family, love and happiness are way more important. Not to mention our health. I had everything right there and I was looking for something else. Isn't that always the way? But now I'm back, everything is the way it should be and everyone is still happy and healthy. So yeah, I am so ready for Christmas!!!!

Me!

Getting Into The Christmas Spirit....

It usually takes me a little bit to get into the spirit, but I get there. It's usually around the time we put up our tree.......

We picked out our tree Saturday. Lex and Lo insisted on going back to the same place we've been going to for years. We have limited space so I told them it couldn't be too big, tall is ok though. 

While the kids were with their Dad Saturday night Todd and I put the lights and ribbon on. My Christmas spirit kicked in big time. So looking forward to having all the kids here and seeing them opening their gifts. 

This year I took a different approach to decorating......I just let them do it all. I am such a control freak when it comes to decorating the tree. Everything has to be perfect, color coordinating and spread out just right. It was always stressful for me in the past, but I've recently learned how to let go, and it is glorious!! And I got to take some nice pictures while they decorated......

It was fun to watch them enjoy themselves and decorate the tree. And I swear I didn't move any of the ornaments ;)   ...........

So yeah, I am really getting into the Christmas spirit. :)

Mom~

So Sick Of The Jolly Fat Guy Getting All The Credit......

I love Christmas, I love shopping for my kids and giving them special toys and I just love the magic of it all. But I gotta be honest, I'm sick of Santa getting all the credit. I actually get a bit jealous. Here I am doing all this work, busting my ass trying to get presents, hide presents and wrap presents and all so an imaginary guy takes all the credit!! Life is so much easier when kids stop believing in Santa. Believe me!! I know. When my teenager was 10 is when she stopped believing and that's only because my BFF's kid took her aside and told her the truth by showing her where his Mom stashed all his presents. -_- At first I was angry, but then I was like "FREEDOM!!!!!!". I don't have to lie anymore. I GET ALL THE CREDIT?!?! Count me in. So now I have years to go before I'm all clear of the big fat lie that is Santa. And I can't wait!!

Me~

How We Single Handedly Almost Ruined Christmas AND Created A Real Life Grinch

For weeks my son has been talking about Christmas, Santa and the party at my Sister's house. We took him to see Santa at the mall and he got to tell Santa everything he wanted on his list........the conversation took almost 10 minutes. Then at his school's Christmas party Santa showed up and Lex was again able to tell him what he wanted. So imagine how excited he was when it was Christmas Eve and we were on our way to my Sister's house for her annual Christmas Eve party. We ate, we played, we had fun and ate some more. Lex was in high spirits and just could not wait to open his presents. Finally my Sister told him to go find his gifts under the tree and get ready to open them. He was ecstatic!!! He found 3 and looked a bit bewildered. I heard him say "Where are the rest?", but thought nothing of it. Then he began opening his gifts. The presents he got were not what he wanted, what he had on his list. They we things my Sister had bought for him, little things. A coloring book, a Monchhichi and some SpongeBob bath bubbles. That's when it happened......Lex had a complete meltdown. All he kept saying was....'None of this stuff was on my list. Where's my science kit?" O_O Of course he's asking for the one thing we didn't get him. We tried explaining to him that Santa would be at our house soon, after he was asleep and when he woke up there would be presents. He said "All I really want is a science kit! This is a terrible Christmas!!" and he cried. What on Earth were we supposed to do?!?!?! Not only wasn't he understanding what we were saying, that it wasn't even Christmas yet, but we didn't get him a science kit!!!! Kevin and I decided to leave right then and there to make it to the book store to get that damn science kit he wanted so badly and to get him away from his cousins who were all opening a ton of gifts. He seemed to be doing a little better once we left, Kevin was able to get that damn science kit and we got home early enough so Kevin could get the wrapping done. While Kevin was in the basement I asked Lex if he wanted to put the reindeer food out with me. "Sure" was his response and he didn't look happy at all. I gave him the plate and told him to scatter it on the ground.....he just tossed it on the ground and walked back inside looking like someone had just kicked his kitten. While I was getting things ready for bedtime I noticed he had taken my decorated wine box and was filling it with small toys. After it was filled he came to me and asked if he could have a bow. I gave him one and watched as he put the bow on, placed the box under the tree and then said "There. Now I have a presents under the tree." and he started crying again, then he looked out the widow and said "This is just the terrible Christmas ever. Santa didn't bring anything on my list". I have never seen something as pathetic and as cute as that in my entire life. He thought Santa had forgotten him, or that he brought him the wrong toys. It was just awful. Kevin and I decided to give all the kids something small before bed in hopes that it would cheer him up a little. We explained that on Christmas Eve the children get to open a gift from their Moms and Dads. So we gave Lola her Pillow Pet (which was obviously the best present ever!), Raven her pjs and Lex his little delorean with a mini Marty McFly in it. He loved it! He went to bed with a smile on his face and saying he loved us.

I was not ok though. I thought for sure that we had somehow traumatized our son, turned him into a real life Grinch. He would never forget "The most terrible Christmas ever". We didn't do a good enough job of explaining the whole Santa thing. All night I kept asking my husband..."Do you think he's going to be happy?!", he thought I was worrying for nothing. And he was right. Christmas morning was great! He was so surprised with all his gifts under the tree, he kept saying "Santa DID come!!! He left lots of presents!! I hope he brought my list!!!" :) Now, I know there will be some people who read this and think to themselves that our kid is spoiled, Christmas isn't about presents, we shouldn't lie to him about Santa.....shut up. He is only 4 and just doesn't get it yet. Next year will be different. How do I know? I've done this before, Raven was the same way. She didn't really "get it" until she was 5, then it was all good. We teach our kids that Christmas is about family, love, being together and yes, Santa. Santa comes to your house and leaves you presents on Christmas Eve. It's magical, it's wonderful and I think it is very important to keep the magic in their lives as long as we can. They grow up so fast and I want them to remember their childhood as fun and, well, magical. :) I love the word MAGICAL!!!!

So that was our almost "Terrible Christmas Ever", but we made it through and our kids were thankful and very, very happy about the things they got. And so was Mommy.....that's a post for tomorrow. So many gorgeous pictures to show off from all my new camera toys!! :D

Ho! Ho! Ho!

I am so ready for Christmas!! We've had our tree up, lights hung and the house is decorated for over a week now, Christmas shopping is almost done, just a few more things to get. And the kids are super excited to see Santa. I love this time of the year because it's magical. I think it's very important for kids to have fun, magical things to believe in. My teen used to love going to see Santa and tell him things she wanted. Seeing her face on Christmas morning was priceless! Even if it was 5 am. -_- I'm not going to lie, there were a few years when I was a single Mom and I couldn't get her a lot of presents, but she was always very happy with the little bit she got. And to be honest, Christmas around here is more about family, love and just being happy that we are together. I will be honest though, as much fun as it is to see the kids' faces light up Christmas morning, life without Santa is a bit easier. I'm always afraid of getting caught! HAH! I'm pretty good at covert operations around here and I've yet to be caught. -fingers crossed- I'm really looking forward to the cookie baking. We do that this weekend. I'm making little baggies filled with sweets for Lex's teachers. Cheaper than buying gifts and I think they'll like that more. Or they'll hate me for making them sweets. HAH! So that's our plan, or at least my plan for this weekend.....baking, baking and even more baking!! Wish me luck! I'll leave you with some picture of our awesome tree topper that Lex made us, my cute kids and of course my fabulous wreath I made myself. Yes, I channeled my inner Martha.

Almost Christmas!

We are ready!!! Well, almost. We still need to wrap, but that's nothin'! We can do that in an hour. O_O Or maybe 2, depending on how much wine I've had. HAH! We have been buying things for a few months and kinda got carried away. We found two bags in the basement full of toys that we had forgot about. I might end up saving a few of Lex's toys for his birthday. Yes, it's that out of control! I'm thinking that next year we will make a list of 10 things that our kids really want and get just those ten things. I"m tired of spending all this money and getting way too many gifts. They just get bored opening them and then we're overrun with toys. Blah. I'm all set with that. I'd like my kids to remember their Christmases as happy, family oriented and just wonderful. My family has decided to not buy gifts for each other this year, instead we're baking and cooking, then sitting down to dinner and just spending time together. We'll take one gift for each child to open at her house, but that's it. It's going to be nice, I can't wait! Every year we would have to buy for 10 other kids!! That adds up! Even when we only spent $10 on each kid, we still bought a little more. We're done with all that. It's about family from now on. Well.....family and food!!! :)

So yeah, tomorrow is Christmas Eve and we're spending it with my sister and her wife's family. It's going to be sad because my SIL's Mom just passed away a little over a month ago. Very. very sad. I'm not sure how everyone is going to be. I hope they can find happiness with the family who is still here and remember their Mother for the beautiful person she was and not dwell on the sadness. Easier said than done, I know. :( I'm just hoping the kids have fun and I can't wait to see everyone.

I'm off to make my famous pecan pie!!!! Kinda hard to do with 2 little ones hanging around, but I'll manage. Kevin and Raven will be home about 7:30, or so. They're having Father Daughter day. He took her to see AVATAR in IMAX. Nerds. LOL!!! :)

Family

We spent Thanksgiving with my Sister and her family. I'm so glad we did, too, because it was really nice. We were actually early for dinner! That never happens!! We ate, we talked, we laughed and we had just a really nice time. Ok, besides Lola screaming for 15 minutes straight because she's scared of my niece, it was a nice time. Poor Keisha. She has Down's Syndrom and Alopecia  and for some reason Lola is scared of her whenever she sees her for the first time. :( It wears off after 15 minutes or so, but it's horrible at first. She is actually afraid of most people when she first meets them. Not everyone, just some. I dunno! -_- So after her meltdown everything was great. :)  We stayed all day, left full and tired, came home, had some drinks and went to bed.

Now...the night before Thanksgiving was all a blur!! o_O So drunk. I can't remember anything past midnight. So sad. I took pictures that I don't even remember!! Now that's bad! LOL!! That was the first time ever that we went out on that night. Hell, we hardly ever go out!! The first half of the night was great though. LOL!!!

Black Friday was spent at home doing nothing. I cleaned, cooked, ate and we hung around watching movies all day. My Mom came over so Kevin and I could do some Christmas shopping. We are officially all done!! Well, except the Visa card for Raven and stocking stuffers. She just wants money. We already bought her her new t.v. that she's been asking for. It's soooo nice!!!!!!! We bought her a 36" flat screen Plasma. She is in love!! I think she's watched Twilight like 20+ times since we got it for her. LOL!!! So just a few more little things. :) We have spent almost $1500 or more on gifts and we didn't buy much!! Things are so expensive! I am glad we started early this year!! Next year we'll start way earlier!!

Now it's on!! Christmas is comin' up fast!! I'm hoping we get lots of snow!! :D Sorry if you hate it, but December is supposed to be white, not gloomy and bare. :D I'm looking forward to watching Lex's face light up on Christmas morning, the smell of the ham cooking, watching Christmas movies.....just everything!! Really into it this year. :D We'll start decorating this week. I have to pick up a few first, then we'll get started. :) So exciting!!!!!