Christmas Decorations 2012

 Our 2012 Christmas decorations!

Last year, I searched high and low for an artificial tree I did not hate.  At the end of last season, a strand went out.  It was our floor model and could not be returned.

When I set it up this year, two strands were out:

 I added some lights, but next year, I need to do it differently because I could still see stripes of burned out strands.

My pretty girls.

Playing with the twinkle lights.  Need practice.

With my girls:

 Our living room:

 I put the snowflakes up for Logan's birthday.  They were whimsical and made me happy, so I left them up.  (dining room post-cookie exchange):

I try to have some general winter decorations and snowman things that I can leave up all winter.  Taking everything down is such a bummer:

That is the extent of our decorating this year.  Next year, I really hope to add some new items and change things up.  I would love to have a fancy tree in my living room and a family tree in the family room.  Not sure if I can convince C to let me take over "his" room any more than I already have!

Christmas Reflections

I have all sorts of holiday themed posts lined up to be published.

They were never completed (although they might be published...just post-holiday).

I have a list of fun-filled holiday adventures for my family to do.

We never did them.

My baking list was as long as usual, filled with thumbprints and sugar cut-outs and gingerbread snowflakes.

I baked half of my biscotti.

This was the theme of our holiday season. I struggled. I was overwhelmed. I didn't take enough time to sit back and enjoy my family.

I was not an engaged parent. I was short-tempered and drowning in my to-do list. A list that is never completed. And a house that is a continual disaster with piles of paper everywhere.  Mail is out of control and I have no idea if I am coming or going.

I feel as if I am doing a portion of what I want to be doing and I am doing nothing well.  I find myself unable to give 100% to anything.

Logan's 2nd birthday party snuck up on me and I was so stressed that I found myself unable to enjoy it.  I took very few pictures and was completely overwhelmed.  I am usually a planner and have lists for my lists; for his party, I felt myself wandering aimlessly through the stores on Friday night, not having any idea what the hell I was doing or looking for.  At one point, I had to come home and regroup and reevaluate my plan because I had bits and pieces of all sorts of things.

A week later, my cookie exchange.  An event I love to host.  I think that being a Friday threw everyone for a loop and my friends were totally exhausted from the work week so it was an early night.   But a ton of preparation for only a few hours.

I need to make changes in the coming year.  I am short-tempered and snap when I don't mean to.  We need to work on organization and having a "place for everything" because that is how we will learn to function in a more productive way and a way that will make me happy.  And at this time next year,  I need to find myself in a better place.  I want to enjoy the holidays with the kids.  We are truly blessed to have two teenagers who are still willing to do family things with us and we need to take advantage of that.

I have spent some time praying and crying over this.  It is overwhelming to me, to feel like we are missing on something.  I need to step back and truly think about what is important.

In this new year, I need to focus on making myself happy, which I know will help me to become a better mom and wife.  I need to remember that life is short and that I must truly remember that my family is everything.

Our Christmas Photo

From our family to yours!

This was used for our Christmas card.

I told the girls to pretend like they liked each other.  Logan was bribed with suckers.

Thanks Colleen Reed Photography!

Teacher Gifts, Thirty-One Style

I was a little stumped about what to do for Logan's teachers for Christmas, but when Thirty-One announced their December Holi-Buys special, I knew right away that I was going with Thermal Totes! I chose 4 different patterns for the teachers I had to buy for and filled them with homemade biscotti! I hope they love the thermals as much as I do!!

Painted Ornaments

A few years ago, I had the girls craft lightbulb reindeer ornaments to give to all of their aunts and uncles for Christmas.  Since Jamie was not with us on Christmas and Lexy was in Florida visiting their mom, I decided not to have them do anything last year.  This year, since everyone is home again (yay!) and we have the girls for Christmas, I wanted them to make gifts again, and I saw this idea on Pinterest.

You need:
Glass Christmas bulbs (I got mine at Michael's)
Acrylic paint
Ribbon
Egg cartons/styrofoam cups so the paint can drip out

Alexys, crafting away!

Directions:
-Remove the hanger caps
-Put drops of paint on the inside of the ornaments and swirl around
-Watch as the colors blend together
-Place the ornaments upside down so the excess paint drips off
-When completely dry, reattach the hanger caps and then add a ribbon so the ornaments can be hung on a tree

Jamie, hard at work

Here they are, drying!

This is the one I did to show the girls what to do, hanging on our tree.

A Day of Silence

Logan's Polar Express 2nd Birthday Prep

For Logan's 2nd birthday, I was really torn. I had pinned all sorts of ideas for an Sesame Street party or a Mickey Mouse party. Then, little man developed an obsession with trains. Instead of going the generic route, I wanted to do something easy this year where I could incorporate trains and Christmas decorations all at once! So, of course, what theme could I do other than The Polar Express! Logan loves the book and now watches the movie once a day, so this is definitely appropriate! The invitation, designed by one of my friends!

The menu (I am keeping it simple, people):

• Hot cocoa bar consisting of:
• Cocoa (duh)
• Chocolate sprinkles
• Peppermint marshmallows
• Vanilla marshmallows
• Whipped cream
• Candy canes
• Chocolate chip cookies
• Cake
• Pinwheel sandwiches (ham and tortilla)
• Veggie tray
• Chips and dip
• Cheese and cracker tray

The decor: 

Keeping it simple.  Our Christmas decorations are up and I have some things I want to do, but we are having the party from 2-5 PM and I just don't have the energy to go crazy with crafting.  We have all been so sick the last week and a half and this has kind of crept up on me!

Book Review: Wallbanger by Alice Clayton

Summary from Amazon.com: Caroline Reynolds has a fantastic new apartment in San Francisco, a KitchenAid mixer, and no O (and we're not talking Oprah here, folks). She has a flourishing design career, an office overlooking the bay, a killer zucchini bread recipe, and no O. She has Clive (the best cat ever), great friends, a great rack, and no O. Adding insult to O-less, since her move, she has an oversexed neighbor with the loudest late-night wallbanging she's ever heard. Each moan, spank, and--was that a meow?--punctuates the fact that not only is she losing sleep, she still has, yep, you guessed it, no O. Enter Simon Parker. (No, really, Simon, please enter.) When the wallbanging threatens to literally bounce her out of bed, Caroline, clad in sexual frustration and a pink baby-doll nightie, confronts her heard-but-never-seen neighbor. Their late-night hallway encounter has, well, mixed results. Ahem. With walls this thin, the tension's gonna be thick... In her third novel, Alice Clayton returns to dish her trademark mix of silly and steamy. Banter, barbs, and strutting pussycats, plus the sexiest apple pie ever made, are dunked in a hot tub and set against the gorgeous San Francisco skyline in this hot and hilarious tale of exasperation at first sight.

My Review:  Seriously, I love Alice Clayton.  I read her books The Unidentified Redhead and The Redhead Revealed over the summer and they are definitely books that kept me laughing.  And Wallbanger did not disappoint.  Clayton's books are witty and Caroline Reynolds is my kind of girl. No-nonsense and she bakes constantly.  Caroline and Simon's relationship clearly starts off rocky and I love the way the sexual tension builds along with their friendship.  Their romance is not something that happens instantly and it leaves the reader waiting at the edge of their seat.  The best part about the book is the witty banter between Caroline and Simon, as well as Caroline's inner dialogue about her lost O, which is hilarious.  And the nicknames she gives Simon's "harem"...Spanx, Purina, Giggles.  I die.  And how can you not love Clive the cat?  This was a wonderfully quick read that will have you laughing out loud!

CSA Week 3 and MPM

I was ridiculously excited about this week's CSA and I am thankful that we now go every-other week, because my fridge and freezer are bursting at the seams!

Because of the holiday, we picked up our package on Wednesday, and this week has me giddy.

• 2# butter from grass grazed cattle
• 1# pumpkin sage linguini
• 1 pint maple syrup
• 1 pint homemade bloody mary mix
• 2# all purpose flour
• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 bag mixed greens
• 1# onions
• 1 dozen eggs (I bought a second)
• 1 head bok choy
• 1 stalk brussels sprouts
• quarter peck Empire Apples

So the menu for this week:

Sunday/Monday: Homemade vegetable beef soup

Tuesday: Velvet Chicken (using the bok choy) and roasted cauliflower and broccoli (both from Fresh Fork)

Wednesday: Unstuffed Pepper Soup

Thursday: These damn ravioli that I WILL make this week

Friday: Pot roast with carrots and potatoes

Saturday: Thai Chicken Pizza

Linking up at OrgJunkie!

Giving Thanks

(I wrote this and thought I hit publish for Thanksgiving.  Apparently I did not.  Blogger fail)

Today is a day on which we are supposed to give thanks. Thanks for things that what make us happy, for what gives us purpose. For those people things, and places that make us complete. What am I thankful for?

For this lovely young woman, who found her way home to us:

For this pretty girl, who is coming into her own:

For the silliness of teenagers.

For toddler giggles, smiles, and snuggles:

For the man of my dreams, for being a wonderful husband and father:

For our parents and siblings and their significant others and children.  For our warm home (ugly golden yellow siding and all), secure jobs, and our health.  For our bed-hogging puppy and bitchy cats.

For all of this and more, I am thankful.

Menu Planning Monday

Thanksgiving week.  I am DYING for some turkey, stuffing and overall deliciousness.  And Black Friday shopping.  And by Black Friday shopping, I mean LEGIT Friday, not this Thursday night BS.  Anyway, here is our menu!

Sunday: BLTs, french fries
Monday: BBQ pork, pasta salad, coleslaw
Tuesday:Roasted beet and chevre ravioli, salad
Wednesday: Thai Chicken Pizza (baking day!)
Thursday: Thanksgiving!
Friday: Leftovers?  Lettuce?

Linking up at OrgJunkie!

Weekend Planning

Ah, finally the weekend!  I have definitely missed Weekend Planning, so I thought it was time to bring it back!  This week feels exceptionally long, especially with Thanksgiving break next week!  I have curriculum planning on Tuesday, so I will only be with my students one day next week!

So, what is on the agenda?
Friday:

• Pick up Logan
• Pick up produce bag
• Make a quick dinner
• Help run the front of house and sell tickets for the play at my high school (helping out the new director)

Saturday:

• Make weekly menu and grocery list
• Haircuts for me and Lexy
• Clean bathrooms; put away laundry; clean bedrooms
• Back to school to help sell more tickets

Sunday:

• I care about nothing else except going to see BREAKING DAWN 2!

Book Review: Bared to You

From Goodreads:

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness—beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily...

Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other's most private wounds... and desires.

The bonds of his love transformed me, even as I prayed that the torment of our pasts didn't tear us apart..

This summer, post-Christian Grey, I found Gabriel Emerson. And then I found Gideon Cross in Sylvia Day's novel, Bared to You.  Many people will compare this novel to 50 Shades, but really, I didn't find much of a comparison.    The story is told from the perspective of Eva Trammel, a 24-year old blonde bombshell who is trying to make it on her own and away from her over-protective mother.  Enter Gideon Cross, the young, handsome billionaire who wants Eva immediately.  As the story unfolds, we discover that these two BOTH have had very traumatic pasts and it is something that they will need to face in order for their relationship to survive.  Gideon is obsessive, controlling, and dominating; Eva has major trust issues and runs at the first hint of trouble in the relationship.  Day's writing is more polished and mature than EL James; there is no real "BDSM" but the sex scenes are definitely raw and sensual.  I became invested in the characters and their stories and for some reason, even though they are both so screwed up (way beyond even Christian Grey), I truly hope they are able to have their happy ending.  I really can not wait until Day releases the last of the Crossfire Trilogy (stay tuned for my review of the second in the series, Reflected in You!).  WARNING: Very explicit sex scenes, so if you are weirded out by 50 Shades, steer clear of this one, even though it definitely has MUCH more of a plot!

4/5 Stars 

Jamie's 16th Birthday Party: Recap

I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves, but I need to talk about the stupid cake. I was so excited and then the orange layer collapsed on one side and then I really thought I was going to lose the entire thing.  I had to put SKEWERS in it to keep it together.  I was so sad about it.  So it was my Leaning Tower of Cake.  Jamie had a blast at her party and I was really excited about how it turned out!

Mini Candy Buffet

Laffy Taffy, Skittles, Mike 'n Ike, Gummy Bears, Rainbow Twizzlers

Birthday Banner

Dining room set up

Banner at night

Family in living room

A LIGHT SABER!  

Rainbow cake that almost wasn't

Inside of rainbow cake

Logan and his cousin, Lilah

The girls and their nonna

Demolished cake