Our Christmas Story - Short version

Our Christmas Story, went like this. The kids didn't get a pair of pajamas that looked like a pink nightmare but they did each get a pair of pj's. Probably not their favorite gift. Everyone got the gift they wanted. Gabe got a Spywatch, which could be a problem, he now is constantly spying on Brandon and I. Noah got the yellow semi he's been asking for and little portable dvd for the bus which was a request from his bus driver. Lily really wanted a jewelry set and a cotton candy maker. She didn't get the cotton candy maker but she received a jewelry set with a lot of other things. She loved all her gifts and after opening gifts she gave us a concert where she rocked Silent Night. We didn't get a leg lamp, but we got a canon camera from my mom. I love it more than a lamp decked out in fishnets and a nifty shade to top it off! But my sister-in-law and her husband have the leg lamp so I can always admire theirs! Nobody asked for a Red Ryder but Colin did ask for a phone. We debated on getting him a phone. We gave everyone their last gift the grand finale. Colin unwrapped a card with 120 minutes. We told him it was minutes he could use at a pay telephone. He didn't know what a pay telephone was, so I told him he can find them at the gas station. Brandon and I played it up asking him how cool it was and it was just as good as having a phone. He started getting tears in his eyes. Brandon found one more gift under the tree for Colin. Colin was so excited to get his own phone! On Christmas day my family came out to celebrate the day. We had fun playing UNO, twister and later the adults played cards. We had a wonderful Christmas!

Papa's Visit

On Wednesday before Christmas Brandon's dad came out to visit. The kids were so excited to have Papa come to their school to pick them up. Papa had a chance to see their classrooms and see Colin's class project. The kids loved having Papa over on their turf. We also exchanged gifts. One of our family's favorites was UNO. We've been playing this game so much, we're starting to wear out the cards! We're already looking forward to Papa's next visit.

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It's Finished!

Today I was pretty much consumed with three pieces of furniture. I had these two pieces I was finishing up some loose ends. This console I'm thinking of keeping and maybe one day giving it to the boys to use as a desk.

When I bought this 3 drawer dresser, it had a rather large black mark on top of the dresser. But I wasn't the least bit worried because I wanted to paint the whole thing green and then I painted over the drawers with a navy blue. Once it was dry I got out the sander and started distressing it. I had leaps of fun with this and I know my mom would love the look of this dresser. I had to get new hardware pulls because the middle drawer was missing the drawer ring. So I bought some Martha Stewart pulls at Home Depot. I do like!

I bought this beauty only a week ago with a price tag of $10. Brandon sanded it yesterday and today I finished some of the last minute sanding. I primed, painted and polyurethane all in 12 hours. It's 9p.m. and I feel great. I got all this done in a days work.

OMG..... It's Thursday!!!

I can't believe it's Thursday. I've been busy trying to put a good size dent in shopping for Christmas and making cookies for a cookie exchange. I'm still trying to finagle a day or two in to workout at the gym with my workout buddy. The past couple of weeks I see no point in working out when every corner you turn there's your archenemy. I'm not hopping on the New Year's diet bandwagon. Nope, I'm starting the day after Christmas. I'm also need to get this table done by Friday and it's Thursday. Yikes...I just keep reminding myself I work better under pressure. I bought it a couple of weeks ago at Goodwill. I brought the tag to a young man at the register, so he called someone for help and read what the tag said plain table, I corrected him and said plain table with great legs! If I had to describe this table I would say oval table with some fabulous curvy legs... such a better definition. I can't wait to see it done!

Bottle Full of Lights

Saturday night Brandon and I worked on a DIY Bottle Full of Lights I saw on Design Mom. We used a jug I had laying around. It was a wine bottle we had from last Christmas that I kept because I've always grooved glass jugs of all sizes. My lovely assistant drilled a hole in the glass with a special drill bit for tile or glass. After, I painted half the jug with glitter acrylic paint. Design Mom used 50 count lights unfortunately I couldn't find 50 so we used 100. You have to use lights that don't connect end-to-end. You string the lights one by one in the hole. It's a little bit tedious but the kids have fun doing it. It's definitely a fun project to do with the kids!

An Afternoon of Manicures

On Friday Lily and I tagged along with Brandon. He had a job interview in an area where they had some small shops around. So Lily and I were going to check out the stores for some Christmas gifts. We didn't get to far... we stopped at a salon and got manicures. Lily had here nails shaped and polished. It was so cute to watch Lily in excitement getting her nails done. Lily's polish change - $8..Lily's glowing smile - priceless!

Package from Arizona

Gabe received a special package from Arizona yesterday. Brandon's Aunt Carol sent Gabe various packs of stamps and a stamp collection book to put all of them in. This is his second package from Great-Aunt Carol in the last month. She generously gave Gabe her stamp collection from when she was a child. He loves this and is having so much fun with his new collection. This is a great gift idea for a child.

Christmas Pictures - Take One

Last night after dinner I took some pictures of the kids in front of the tree. I had about a 5 minute window of time to take some pictures before leaving to go to church. Gabe had to be there early to sing with his class. I took about 20 pictures with all the kids and in almost all the pictures someone wasn't looking or smiling. I also took separate pictures of the kids. Gabe was upset the first set of pictures because he wanted to go last. At the very end I took random pictures. I got a couple of pictures of Gabe getting suplexed by Noah. I guess that's how Noah spreads the Christmas cheer. I'm still debating if we should redo a group shot in front of the tree. What do you think?