VISIT WITH SANTA

So this year we opted out of sending our Christmas cards. I know, I know… bah humbug. No, actually it had nothing to do with being a Scrooge, but there were a few reasons I didn’t do it this year. I guess laziness can be a factor, along with the fact that I didn’t have a good family picture that’s recent to add into it. I didn’t feel like paying for stamps. Or repeating myself in a newsletter that I’ve already written out on the blog. I could come up with a hundred other excuses, but I think these are good enough for now. If you complain to me, you might get a slew of other excuses. I have tons up my sleeve.

On to happier thoughts… Christian is off of work for 2 weeks. Which is a GREAT thing and a NOT SO GREAT thing at times. We tend to be at each other’s throats at times. And if you couldn’t guess, I’m not exactly a timid wife, and he’s not the most soft spoken of husbands. So sometimes it’s all out war, and other times we’re cracking up laughing. Today we decided to venture out with the kids to the land of chaos and craziness…. THE MALL!!! (Hide your wife! Hide your children! Hide your husbands! (That’s a hilarious news reference, incase you’re not sure where that came from)). So off to the mall we went to see Santa. Background… Christian does NOT like the mall. He’s not a huge fan of people to begin with, so a mall is like a root canal for him. He did brave it and let the kids even play at the Play Area afterwards for a few minutes before his sensitive personality couldn’t take it anymore.  Oh, and did I mention that I didn’t feel like paying $20 for a 5x7 of a picture that my camera can take just as well. It was actually Santa’s idea to pass it off to another mom to take the picture for us. I don’t think his “elves” were very thrilled. I’m sure they’ll survive.

*The kids waiting patiently to tell Santa what they want for Christmas*
*Kalea thinks it’s funny to ruin my pictures when I tell her to smile. There will be CONSEQUENCES!*    
He L*O*V*E*D it… can you tell?
 
*Santa’s idea for the whole family to take a picture. Mia was really shy and we had to drag her sit down and Landen wasn’t very thrilled with being up close and personal with Santa… even with Mommy right there with him. Eventually it’ll get better… right?*
P*L*A*Y*T*I*M*E!!!  

*The train that went around the mall. Landen loved watching it and kept saying “woo woo”*

PLAYING CATCH UP

I’ve neglected my blog… once again. Things are busy as usual so here’s a brief catch up…

1. Kalea participated in her 1st grade spelling bee. She had already won her Class spelling be (which we were SO proud of.) So it was on to compete against 5 other 1st graders. Christian and I were both able to attend while my mom watched the 2 little ones. Kalea did great! She finished fourth. The spelling bee lasted FOREVER. The kids got through all of the 1st grade spelling words and made their way into the 2nd grade words. Then into 3rd grade spelling words. Kalea’s final word was “firm”. She sat there for awhile and kind of glared at the coordinator. You could almost read her mind… “This wasn’t on my spelling list I studied.” She spelled it MOSTLY right. F-E-R-M. Makes sense, really. She got out and you could tell she was very disappointed. When it was all said and done, Christian and I made it very apparent how PROUD we were of her. She looked us and said, “They tricked me.” So hard for a 6 year old to grasp when things get a little hard or “tricky”. But once she learned that the winner of the 1st graders had to compete in a School wide spelling bee… she was happy she didn’t win.

2. Christian’s classes are O-V-E-R!!! I’m so excited for this. Well.. just in time, I guess. Christian was just called into the Elders Quorum Presidency as 2nd Counselor. He was a little surprised by this calling. He is gone a little and is serving more. But it’s such a great opportunity for him too. My only questions have been “What time are you going to be home” and “What time should I have dinner ready.”

3. Mia got an opportunity to bring in snack for her class which also means she got to bring home “Brownie”. He’s a cute little stuffed bear where the parents get to photo and document what their adventures were that week. Mia loved having him at home and slept with him every night. Here are a few pictures of their week together.

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

4. My biggest accomplishment has been finishing all 27 hats (3 weren’t for nieces & nephews) within a months time. It was a little exhausting but well worth the effort. The hats all turned out just like I wanted and I even have them tagged and named for each niece and nephew. Now I’m on to making myself a hat and scarf to match. Hopefully I will still be blessed enough to have mine turn out as well as the others.

5.Christian has been SHOP HAPPY. I’m talking CRAZY amounts… but of course NOTHING full price and everything on sale. He has done almost 100% of the shopping this year. Many wives would be grateful for this, which I am, don’t get me wrong. But I know it’s partly because he knows he can find better deals then me. I feel a little out of the loop, but the things he’s picked the kids are going to LOVE. So I’m excited for them. I just hope we didn’t break the bank.

6. I got all the Christmas presents wrapped.

7. Lastly, we still haven’t heard from UNC Medical school yet about an interview. Last year it was after the new year also. So that is all still up in the air. The main thing right now for us is deciding whether or not we’re going to sell our house in the spring. We have QUICKLY outgrown the house we have. When we first moved in, it was perfect for our small family, now we seem a little squished. So it all depends if we’re going to Chapel Hill or staying in this area. Lots to think and pray about.

Life has been busy, but such a huge blessing. Our lives would be so lonely and empty without our children. They really bring a lot of laughter, smiles, fights, and sometimes craziness… but we count each one of these things as a blessing.

THANKSGIVING AND BLACK FRIDAY… be afraid.

Oh Boy… so much to tell.

Thanksgiving:

We do a switch off every year of who we’re doing Thanksgiving with. Christian SWEARS that one year we did our own. I don’t remember. Either it was so painful that I blocked it out… or it never happened. Either way, this year was the Alo’s turn. Lucky Ducks. So we headed out early to the Simpson’s first so the girls could play with their cousins before it was time to leave. I got us all dressed super cute, thinking naively that we would get a family picture in. Well, apparently mist and rain were in the forecast (a little foreshadowing for later on) and it didn’t happen. The girls played for a little while and then 10 minutes before we have to head over to my parents house Mackenzie showed up. Mackenzie is the Mia’s FAVORITE… which quite honestly might be an understatement. I’m talking borderline obsession she loves her cousin so much. So, they play for 15 minutes and we have to GO. Mia is devastated and hysterical. Poor girl. So we head over to my Mom’s and the house smells so yummy. She brined the Turkey this year and was sooo moist. The sides were all excellent and we ate until we were stuffed. I’m talking mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, rolls, sweet potato casserole that was KILLER… you get the point. I’m a weirdo during Thanksgiving and don’t like my food to touch. So I had like 2 separate plates and was a happy girl. (The highlight of dinner is when Mia wanted another roll. She asked for half of a roll, to be exact. Grandma answer, “Which half do you want?”. “Both”.)  Earlier last week our TV went caput. I like to call it the BEAST. So the BEAST decided to end it’s life and we’re TV-less. The only rational thing to do? Yes, Shop on BLACK FRIDAY. (You just shivered a little didn’t you. Scary… I know.) My mom was kind enough to let the kids have a sleep over which they were excited about. We leave their house and head on home….

Black Friday:

We got home around 7:30pm. I thought, “Hey, let’s take a little nap, wake up at 11pm.” No such luck. Christian was so antsy and crazy that we ended up watching TV on our busted TV. I could only keep him at bay til around 10:30pm. Then we headed out to the Target in Knightdale thinking it would be the most abandoned. The doors didn’t open until 4am. So leaving at 10:30pm sounds crazy right? WRONG!! There are crazier people then us. There were at least 30 people already lined up in their lazy chairs. Rednecks… I swear...grumble, grumble. So we’re a little surprised and are thinking to ourselves that we’re probably not going to get a TV if we’re #31 in line. I tell Christian I’m going to head over to the Target by Triangle Towne Center. It only takes about 10 minutes, and I’d come back for him. So I get there and there are less then 10 people in line! I call Christian and he tells me to STAY PUT!! I’m a little worried because he’s stranded in Knightdale and then to top it off tells me he’s going to get a ride to me. Uh… I just told him not to pick anyone crazy. He arrives safely. PHEW! So it’s about 11pm by now. 11pm – 3:59am… not much to tell. Except that it’s rainy, misty, and only about 56 degrees so not too cold. But BOOOORRRRIIINNNNGGGG!! We stood between a techy geek and his wife/girlfriend and 2 fancy teenagers who brought their fancy table and chair set with their North Face jackets on. Behind us were about 5 black guys… which is important to remember later on.

3:30 AM:

The manager and a few staff members plus the security guard (if you can even call him that) come out, lay down a few rules, pass out a few maps, and make a count. There were close to 400 people in line by now and you know that last person in line is thinking they’re there earlier enough to get a TV. WRONG! We’ve been here since 11pm, sucker. During this next 30 minutes Christian is pep talking me like crazy. Practically threatening me by saying I won’t have a TV at all if I don’t run for it. Then we start sizing people up. An old Asian Couple, 3 extremely over weight girls, and a few scattered middle aged people are in front of us. Sounds rude, right? WRONG!! We’re sizing up the competition, People!! This is LIVE OR DIE HERE! At one point I turn to Christian and say, “This may be the only time that you will look at our bank account and thank me for going to Target so much. Because I know this store in my SLEEP!”

4:00AM:

The doors open, we’re packed like sardines, and… we’re…. OFF! The 10 or more people in front of us go straight ahead and then turn left after the carts. I, on the other hand, took geometry and know that the shortest distance between point A and point B is a straight line. So instead of running the rat race with these fools I take a quick left and cut through the cash registers where the employees are looking at me like I’m CRAZY (which I am because I haven’t slept in FOREVER). We’re all bookin it by now and I’m not even sure where my husband went… all I know is I’m gettin a TV! So I cut through the registers, and almost get sideswiped by one of the 5 black guys which were behind me at one point. I run past girls clothes, past jewelry, past women's and take a sharp right before the cosmetics and see the TV’s!!! There are only 2 guys in front of me, the one who almost sideswiped me and his friend. We finally get to the TV’s and I’m the 3rd person there!! Ok.. ok… I know what you’re thinking. Congrats, you’re the 2nd loser. Um… HELLO?? Do you not know me at all? I am the slowest, most un-athletic person you will EVER meet in your short existence. I just beat out 10 people who were more out of shape then me. So being 3rd is a huge achievement. Christian shows up a few seconds later and grabs a 2nd TV. Yes, we’re hoarders like that. No, not really but we got 2 just in case one of his brothers wanted one. We’re so pumped full of adrenaline after that we can’t even remember what else we came for. All we know is some lady is screaming at people to quit running and we’re getting the stink eye from everyone else who see’s a sweet, in love, married couple with 2 TV’s. SUCKERS!! When we finally check out we get in the car and we’re not even tired anymore… which only lasts about an hour for me. By 5:30am I’m out cold and for some strange reason Christian goes back out shopping. So in short he gets about 2 hours of sleep and I got about 5. All for a 40” LCD TV that cost about $300. Mission accomplished.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN? WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO?

OHHH… you know… a little of this, a little of that. Mostly running around like crazy trying to keep up with my little (and not so little) ones. Here’s a few events to help catch you up.

Event 1:

Mia and Landen had a Joy School activity a little while back. We went to Shelley Lake and fed the ducks. It was a little chilly and breezy but still fun for the kids. Landen screamed and cried when it was time to go. I had to drag him to the car. But would you really expect anything less?

Just a few of the kids who showed up. (I had to take pictures of the group in shifts and apparently forgot to download the rest to my computer…. and now I’m just being lazy.)
  

Funny Story… So we’re walking up from the Lake to the park and we see a Police Officer riding a horse. Well you don’t see that everyday. So the kids are in awe and I take a picture with my sunglasses on. Then when I hear him talk it throws me off. Uh… turns out this particular officer is someone I went to High School with. Awkward?… yea, a little. We said hi and went on our separate ways.

EVENT 2:

We went Owl-a-Watchin. Mia had a little 3 day camp about Nocturnal Animals at the Blue Jay County Park this November. Along with it they were doing a little evening event with owl crafts, facts, a little walk on the trail in the dark lit by lanterns, and hot chocolate. Sounds fun, right? WRONG! Landen chooses this night to be AWFUL. I’m talking screams that filled the woods, trying to run away, tantrums out the wazoo. It was embarrassing and terrible. Too bad, the girls enjoyed it… i think. They made a craft. Drank Hot Chocolate that looked like poop water. And we did about 1/2 of the trail. They weren’t too upset when it was time to go… all things considered.

*drinking the poop water*

*Landen chose Apple Juice… the only time he wasn’t screaming.*
*Can you see the crazy in his eyes?*  

~It’s the MOST wonderful time of the year~

For those of you who don’t follow I’m No Martha… here’s a little snippet of our Christmas Decor.

We started (and mostly finished) our Christmas decorating yesterday. It was so much fun, the kids had a blast, and it puts me in the best mood. It’s funny how a little thing like decorations can change a person’s mood about their house. And just in time… I was feeling a little bored with how it looked. Here’s how it turned out…

My mom hand made all of our stockings. She is mucho talented.

  

*The Santa was made by my Grandma… the kids love to come downstairs and see this big  jolly guy.*

My DEAR SWEET Grandma sent me 4 houses this year for Christmas. Not only are they gorgeous, but their Thomas Kinkade… who I LOVE. These houses are so intricate and detailed. The kids love them, now if I could get a certain 2 year old to keep his hands off.

 

*They even have little tiny people.*

Can you tell we have little girls in our home that rule our house… and not to mention our tree?!

    

I made this… Do you love it? The website is HERE.

A HUGE THANK YOU to my parents for giving me this mirror. They were going to Craigslist it… but I begged and they caved. Christian hung it up… along with the wreath and our plaque. He had his work cut out for him today. He’s the best!

I LOVE the gold frame for Christmas cause it matches the other gold accents around the house right now. After Christmas?… We’ll see. 
I finally found a place for this bad boy. I feel like LOTS of people have similar things, but I love it and treasure it. I don’t think you can read it in this picture but it says “Families are Forever” under the Simpson name. If you’ve never made one, I highly recommend it. I made mine HERE.

HALLOWEEN

I don’t know about you, but October has FLOWN by. I blinked and it was gone. We have a bit of a dilemma this year with the kids. We have realized that they are old enough to understand the principle of keeping the Sabbath Day holy. And as we all know… Halloween is on SUNDAY! Kalea came up to us one day and said, “I really want to go trick or treating, but I really want to keep the Sabbath Day holy." Ahhhh!! What to do? Lucky the decision was somewhat easy.  ( This is important since we believe that Sunday is a day of rest from our daily activities. That includes shopping, playing at friends houses, etc. Halloween falls into that category at our house.) This year we are able to participate in “Trunk or Treat” at our church AND have a Halloween party on the same evening. So the kids still get to dress up, play games, and get candy. They ended up having a great time and really enjoyed handing out candy to the other kids. That counts as service, right?

First off we went over to Kelly’s house. She’s one of my good friends that I used to work with and, sadly enough, NEVER get to see any more. Her and Alana (equally as fun and hilarious) put together a great Halloween party for the kids. One thing about these girls, the food they prepared was sooooo good. I guess when you’ve worked around food as long as we have (had) you learn to serve food for the grown ups, not just the kids.

*This is Hazel with Mia. She is such a cutie and she was drawn to Mia (naturally, I mean they’re both in frilly pink Tutu’s). Then Hazel eyed Mia’s little pumpkin and obviously wanted it. Mia was so funny. She was feeling particularly shy this night and wouldn’t even look Hazel in the eye like she was a vicious pit-bull or something. Hazel finally got her own pumpkin and I think Mia was relieved. But I’m pretty sure she was still plotting how to get her wand out of Hazel’s little grasp.*

 

(Kate, Kristy, Lauren, Kelly, Kelli, Alana. I used to work with these amazing women. I miss them but SO glad they still keep in touch)

The kids and I… Landen with a mouth full of somethin, Mia won’t even look at the camera b/c Hazel is ATTACKING… ahhhhh!!!.. and Kalea being her superstar self.

We could only stay for an hour and then we had to book it from Raleigh to Knightdale for Trunk-or-Treat. Our ward had just split and we wanted to go and say “see ya later” (never goodbye) to those who would be in different wards. It was such a BIG turn out. Christian sadly was battling a gross sickness and so he couldn’t go. Somehow I was able to pawn off our candy to another car and still take the kids trick or treating. Afterwards we all went inside and had a dinner of Chili and a potluck with an array of goodies. It was fun to hang out and get warm. Landen decided he would take off and run out of my sight every 8.5 seconds. Luckily the Allens and the Salgado’s really helped me out with that little Monkey (yea, i said it.)

*I love this picture of the girls. They look so OLD and like such DIVA’s!! I love it.*

  *Lillie, Mia, and Kaitlyn. – Her little buddies*                                *My 3 Angels*

Once we got home it was time to unload and see what kind of treats I got… uh… I mean, the kids got.