99 bottles of beer on the wall.

I have been singing that song in my head for the last 3 days as I get my holiday cards ready to mail. But my version goes like this.....
110 Christmas cards in the box...
110 Christmas cards...
Take one out.
Hand write message, tape on family picture, tape on family update inside, print address label, put on stamp, find cute return address label, stamp, lick the envelope that won't stick...
109 Christmas cards to go.

54 down...and 56 to go...maybe you will get them by Valentines day.

2 Days and Counting

Since Christmas time is not busy enough...I decide to add a new tradition.

A countdown calendar. I saw a cute version made with baby Christmas socks in Martha Stewart one year and just filed that away in the brain somewhere. I thought this would be a good year to pull that idea out...so I hunted everywhere for 24 Baby size Christmas socks only to find that there were very few...after giving up on that I decide to just find 24 Christmas socks of any size. Thank you Target for your $1 socks...I scored most of them there. The Dollar store also pulled through for me.

Next I was off to the scrapbook place where I could die cut 24 stars and the numbers 1-24. Not much fun while trying to keep baby from pulling everything off the shelf or falling out of the cart. I eventually made it with no sanity left and headed home to put my creation together. It was already Dec 2nd and I was 2 days behind. What's new.

I stayed up until 2am one night so that the next morning the kids would be surprised to a new tradition. They were excited as they came screaming into my room (waking me up)...realizing that there were 24 socks full of goodies waiting for them.

They have loved opening their sock each day and have been so good not to peek ahead and to take turns on who gets the sock down and passes out the goodies.

Here is to a new family tradition and more work for mom...now I have to find 96 goodies (24 gifts x4 kids) to stuff them for next year. But hopefully it will create some lasting memories for them each year. I think next year I will let them help make little gifts to help fill the socks...

Goodbye my 3 year old...Hello 4

Last Day of Being 3 ............................First Day of Being 4

It is a day of goodbye and hellos.

• Goodbye my manic outburst 3 year old...hello my calm, controlled child.


• Goodbye my bottle drinking 3 year old...hello my big cup milk drinking child. (how embarassing to admit...but the stubborn child will not drink milk any other way)


• Goodbye hopefully to pull ups...hello more cash in my pocket.


• Goodbye big bulky car seat for a 2-3 year old..hello less bulky booster for a big girl.


• Goodbye to daily ponytails pulled friggin so tight it would make you brain hurt...hello girl willing to try all the cute hairstyles out there.


• Goodbye my fiesty but fun 3 year old...Hello to my fiesty but fun 4 year old.

But these things I don't want to ever say goodbye to...

I pray you keep your bright sunny dispostion each morning as you bounce in my room. (before any other youngster is awake) ..smiling ear to ear...chatting unstopably about something...and begging me to get up and enjoy the day with you (or really just Dora).

I hope you keep your obession for all things in order...I walk by the same set of Christmas trees on the window sill and find you have straightened them in perfect descending order. Or organize my stack of decorative boxes so that they all face front...none of the randomness to anyting. Can a 3 year old already have OCD.

I hope are always as tender and caring to your baby sister as you are right now. Never a cry or whimper that you aren't springing to your feet to see what it wrong. Now I could live without your need to always help her...even when it is to reach the sugar shaker while peering ontop of a stool..only to topple over spilling the sugar and baby all over the floor.

I pray you will always be my Smiley Riley. Happy Birthday my sweetie!

Santa I can Explain

That quote sums it all up for the 5 naughty girls in my house...

me included. I feel like

I need to explain

not to Santa but to my family

• why I have been a "girl in a whirl" over the past 3 weeks.
• why I way overspent on Christmas. (did you see all the deals out there) sorry hubby...my debt diet starts Jan 1
• why my Christmas card picture still has not been taken or my letter written. (expect it before year end, hopefully) AGHHH
• why I stay up until 1am and still can't get it all done.
• why I have eaten way to many sweets. (gingerbread is too fabulous to pass up)
• why I didn't get all the handmade presents done that I wanted.
• why I didn't get my Dickens 56 village posted on EBAY to sell this year...therefore it stays packed up for the 5th year in a row.
• why I haven't gone on a date with hubby for a month.

BUT there is HOPE...

Hope that I can

• slow down and enjoy the holidays
• go hiking in the snow covered mountain outside our home everyday with hubby over the next 2 weeks he is home.
• avoid the after Christmas sales.
• get this old body in shape again...one cookie less eaten at a time.
• go on more dates with the man. I did score a Cheesecake Factory Date last night with him. Lucky me.
• laugh at those silly little moments that fill each and every day. like the silly pic below.
  

I am sure the list should go on and on but it is time to sit down quietly with hubby and snuggle up by the fire to watch House (his favorite TV show...which thanks to the new DVR we have 20 hours to see) and if anyone of you know the man you know that it is a dangerous show to let him watch...he acts a lot like Dr.House and I am afraid it might encourage his "know it all" like attitude.

White stuff

It's beginning to look ALOT like Christmas.

Deep snow everywhere I look.
Santa...please bring me some snow shoes so I can hoof it out of here.
Look how scary Thursday is...13 degrees...who knew people could live like this.

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

I was suppose to post this before I left for THANKSGIVING...but it was one of thing that didn't get done...and now 2 weeks later I am just coming up for air...so here is my post belately.

It is Nov 20th and I already have both my Christmas trees up. Aren't I ahead of the game. Well thanks to busy Thanksgiving plans(driving to TEXAS)...I had to get my trees up this week. I had just packed away all the Halloween stuff and poor Thanksgiving decor got missed.

This is the main family room tree. It is much too large for this new house...it use to look great on against a wall 26 feet high...now it seems like the wicked step sister who stuffed her tree into the house just to make it fit. My neighbor back in Texas labeled this the BURNING BUSH TREE since it has over 12,000 lights.. I added peacock blue to the tree this year to give it something new and coordinate with my funkier looking family room.

And here is the ever so fun DIVA TREE . Complete with lime green and pink lights...8 pink feather boas...and all the fun and funky girl ornaments you can find. Don't forget the pink and black cheetah skirt to complete the look. I just did the basic lights and boa and let the girls go wild...(hey that sounds like a show I would never want my daughters to be on). Again notice how I squeezed it into the spot...put it in the hallway this year leading to the girls rooms...looked a little funny in the game room since it is decorated with all my old world traditional stuff from Houston. No diva game room here to put that lime green thing on. Grab your glasses..

Anybody have any ideas on how to incorporate 15 large beautiful pumpkins into my Christmas decor. They are still perfect and I can't stand to throw them out. Stay tuned for pumpkins turned holidayish.

Have yourself a Merry little Thanksgiving....see I have too much Christmas on the brain.

Because I am 1.

I have been dragging around all day feeling a little under the weather. Thank goodness it was a Thursdat when only baby and I are around for most of the day. We could just sit around being sick together...

• we pulled out all of the wooden puzzles and dumped all the pieces on the floor just b/c that is what a 1 year old likes to do.


• we found our favorite cereal (Marshmallow Mateys -thanks neighbor Mike who works for Malt-O-Meal for all the free cereal) and dumped it on the floor to pick out only the cereal and leave the marshmallows behind just b/c were 1.


• we could discover the box of Christmas ribbons, netting, and such that Mom has out to decorate the tree and scatter it all over the house b/c we're 1. (More on the decorating later)


• we could go to mom's bathroom and pull out all of her feminine hygiene products and drag them around her room b/c we are one.


• we could toss our beautiful pink silk shoe from Janie and Jack into the toilet that needs to be scrubbed b/c we are 1.


• we could fight over mom's diet coke and scream in protest b/c she can't have any b/c we are 1.


• we can throw moms new catalogs into the bath as mom is relaxing there trying to ease her achy body. (i love this time of year with all the fun catalogs) b/c we are 1.


• we can find markers that one of our big sisters left out and pull the tip out of it with our teeth and proceed to suck it dry until all of the color is off the tip and onto our clothes b/c we are 1 (thank goodness it was only yellow)...but there went outfit #1
  


• we can scream in protest all the way through a store as mom just needs to pick a few things up and then convince mom that a sucker is the only thing going to calm me down just b/c we are 1. (that would be outfit #2 for the day)


• we can smash strawberries all over our clothes just b/c we are 1...(onto outfit #3)

And that is how my perfectly under the weather day went today. Thank goodness for naps b/c I am not 1 and my 37 year old tired body needed it after all that activity.