Our Formal Tree

Don't look at the dark section at the top....it's getting fixed in 3-7 days!

Thanksgiving Week

We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving week at our house.  Aaron was off Wednesday through Sunday and we enjoyed spending so much time as a family together.   We didn't plan a whole lot, but we had fun.  I worked half a day on Wednesday then came home so the girls and I could have our baking day.  We made two loaves of banana bread  and really enjoyed our time.  My girls love baking with mama!  Thursday we got up bright and early and headed to Oklahoma.  We managed to only stop one time on the way there.  We had lunch at my dad's sister's house.  After lunch my aunt had the cutest activity planned for the little kids.  They made concrete stepping stones with all kinds of bobbles in them and their hand prints.  We played football, went on walks in the woods and enjoyed my favorite foods all year long.  I live for Thanksgiving and Christmas food!!  The girls had such a good time in the country.  They are both country girls at heart.  For dinner we went to my grandparents house about 45 minutes away from the first stop.  Again, enjoyed the best food!!  I was able to breath fine after the first meal and dessert, but I was a goner after the second feast.  The girls love playing with all my cousins kids and they were so well behaved.  They make me so proud.  We drove home late Thursday night and got to spend the night in our warm comfy beds.  It made for a long day, but at least we were back home.  We didn't get to go to Aaron's parents' house this year as we have to skip someone every other year.  Next year we won't miss them.  

Friday we had Razzoo's for lunch then took the kids, along with Jamie, to see Bolt.  Cute movie!!  Now I've got to track down Bolt and Penny stuffed animals.  Poor Paige got all emotional during the movie.  She has such a tender little heart!  After the movie Aaron kept the kids and Jamie and I spent the afternoon clothes shopping.  We were so disappointed in the sales at the mall.  Kohls had a few cute things on sale though.  Then we hit the motherload at Macy's.  They had lots of cute sweaters and shirts on sale.  I was in desperate need of some winter clothes.  Check that off my list!  I will say that was probably the most relaxing and fun day I've had in a long time.  We got to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the mall on Black Friday, but the crowds weren't bad since it was later in the day.  The kids weren't there whining and I got to go in any store the suited my fancy.  It was so much fun!!  (Note: not that my kids are whiny all the time, but shopping with them is not on my list of fun things to do!)  I picked up a Christmas gift for Aaron and got some much needed play clothes for Paige at Kohl's half price!!  I also ordered Aaron's other Christmas gift from Amazon, which they promptly shipped to me the next day!  Check that off too!!  I'm done Christmas shopping now with the exception of a few gift cards and my photo books.  

Daddy buried Paige in the leaves in Oklahoma!  This girl LOVES the country!

Here's Paige and Addie riding Rio with Papa:

Saturday night we came home and finished decorating our formal tree.  Bonehead Laurie finally found a 1-800 number to call to get replacement lights for the silly tree.  The company was actually open when I called and my replacement lights should be here in 3-7 days.  So we went ahead and finished decorating it.  My girls just love Christmas decorating!  Then we got the wild hair idea to go to Garden Ridge at 9pm.  They had been open round the clock since Wednesday with great deals on Christmas decor so we went and bought our yard decorations!  The girls came alive when they saw all the Christmas stuff to be had.  We walked out with reindeer, porch trees, blow up Santa and giant ball ornaments.  We made a haul!! 

Sunday we lounged.  I'm still not out of my pj's.  We've having family moving night in a few hours, eating popcorn and watching Enchanted I think.  

I couldn't have planned a more fun week with my family if I had tried.  And the best thing about it is that I didn't try.  It just all happened how it happened and worked out great.  Tomorrow is back to business as usual, except the house is all Christmas.  Can't wait till Aaron's off a week for Christmas!! 

Now we start wrapping all those gifts and getting ready for party central next weekend!

Oh Freaking Christmas Tree!

The holidays are suppose to be filled with joy, right?  I'm one giant bah-humbug right now!!  This dang tree is going to be the death of me.  After going to 3 stores including the original one I purchased the tree from, Sears, I thought I had finally found the right replacement bulb for my tree.  Took every single burned out bulb off the tree, ripped a nail down to the quick doing it, and what do you know.......the new lights don't fit!!!  I'm walking away from this project for tonight before I take hostages.  Aaron will have to help me when calmer  heads prevail tomorrow or after Thanksgiving.  So much for getting it all done.   Our time constraints are over now anyway.  

I guess my options are to cut the strand off the tree and try and string another set up just like the tree making company did or buy a new tree?  Man, my redneck, lights clipped on self-prelit tree has stood up a lot better than this one has.  And I didn't pay that much for it either!!

Oh Christmas Tree

Due to some uncertain timing we went ahead and put up our Christmas decor this weekend. We have finished our family tree and are working on our formal tree. The kids had such a good time putting everything on. Addie kept clapping her hands saying "I LOVE Christmas, momma!" It was precious and so much fun. Paige loved seeing each of her personal ornaments. I felt bad for Addie because we went nuts the first year we had Paige having a new baby and everyone got her an ornament. Baby number 2 didn't get that Christmas excitement because she was nearly a year old by the time Christmas came around so she only has 1 "my first christmas" ornament. And I was bad and didn't buy dated ornaments last year so now Addie is severely short changed so I will have to do better from here on out.

Now, my second tree isn't decorated yet because we are having a lights problem. It's a 3 year old pre-lit tree and one set of lights blew out last year. There must have been a short because every light is burned out with black inside the bulb. We changed the fuses and tried to replace a few bulbs, but I dont' have the right size bulbs. So, I will make a trip to Hobby Lobby today to try and find replacement bulbs then replace EACH bulb in that strand. I don't know what else to do. The lights are literally wrapped around each branch so taking the strand off is out of the question. Who knew a pre-lit tree would be so difficult.

Here's why I'm not crazy....

Here's an article that outlines what I've been saying about dropping prices.  Something to think about.....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27823694/

This is bad

Again, your eyes aren't deceiving you....that really is gas for $1.68.  I know, I know, everyone loves these low prices.  But let me give you one thought to ponder on.....how much were you worth say 9 months ago when gas was $3.50 and crude was over $100/bbl.  Yes, we were paying a few hundred dollars a month more for gasoline, but I know my investments were worth at least $15k higher than they are today, with no bottom in site.  I try not to even look at the statements anymore.   It's bad.  And it's not like these gas prices are going to spark consumer spending.  People still aren't stable enough for that.  We're all being ginger with our spending right now.   I just never thought prices would be this low again.

Do you know what this is???

Possibly my single most favorite food!

The pomegranate!

Gas prices

No, you aren't reading that wrong...gas really is $1.72 and if you click on the next picture it's $1.71. I cannot believe it. I will leave it at that.

Melt a momma's heart

At dinner tonight Paige says to Aaron:

P: Daddy, what are you thankful for?

A: Well, I'm thankful for my beautiful wife and my two sweet girls, Paige and Addie.

P: Mom, what are you thankful for?

L: I'm thankful for my family and my house and....(interrupted)

P: Mom, you have to pick one thing and it can't be something someone else has said.

L: Ok, I'm thankful for my job.

P: Addie what are you thankful for?

Ad: My daddy and my mommy.

A: Paige, what are you thankful for?

P: I'm thankful for all the people who love me.

Yeah, we both had tears after that one.

Later this evening Paige and Addie are playing their usual kitty and mommy game.  Paige crawling around on her knees as the kitty and Addie leading her telling her where to go and what to do.  Paige starts meowing away like she's hurt and Addie says to her "Awwww, are you stuck in a muddle pud."  I just cracked up.

Oh yes they call her the streak

Thank you Ray Stevens....

I've long known that my kids have a problem keeping their clothes on.  Not sure that I'm surprised since most of the pictures of me at that age, feature my naked butt running around as well.  But this has never been a problem since it's only at home.  Well yesterday, I took the girls to Pink's Western Wear to try on boots so we could tell Santa what size and type of boots we want.  I left the girls at the back of the store because they were playing and I could still see them.  I turn around 30 seconds later to find Addie sitting in the floor with her pants around her ankles.  Luckily, she left her panties on, but nonetheless I wanted to strangle her!!  Except, I couldn't quit laughing.  I'm sure she was totally confused as to why I'm telling her I'm furious with her all the while laughing my head off.  Could not believe it.  Mortified.  

So as Aaron's getting ready to walk out the door for work today, Addie comes around the corner looking like this:

Well, I did have a picture of Addie here standing in her panties holding up my bra over her chest, but then I got to thinking about all the sickos out there who might get some kind of jolly out of this and I deleted it.....sorry.  I will forward it to those that want it.

Yes, that's mom's "old bra on her boobits" as Addie likes to call it.  Oh my heavens.  I couldn't even begin to make this stuff up.  

And in case you didn't see my updated comment from my post about our night out a few days ago, I wanted to assure you all that I did NOT pay for that bottle of champagne myself.  I wouldn't pay $60 for a bottle of wine, let alone that much.  I'm just too cheap.  

Well, I'm off to complete Operation: Mount St. Laundry to get ready for the crazy week we've got planned this week.  Thanksgiving week will actually be restful compared to everything we've got going on this coming week.  

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

The girls found these tiny little Christmas trees months ago when Hobby Lobby had their Christmas stuff out with their 4th of July stuff.  I finally bought them for them and they had a ball decorating them.  Here's their trees and they are very proud of them.  I think it's cute as they reflect their individual personalities.  They picked everything out themselves. 

Addie's tree

 

Paige's tree

  

Oil Prices

So.....I work in the oil and gas business. I'm an engineering and geology tech for a small independent oil company. I've been doing this for the last 8 years and I really love my job. I've recently gone contract and I'm loving that even more. Lots of freedom and perks, very few drawbacks. So, that being said, I'm STRESSED!!! I know the rest of the country is ecstatic that gasoline is under $2 everywhere now, but I've never been more nervous about losing my job. With crude prices closing yesterday under $56, we are simply NOT making money. I don't mean making a little money, I mean NOT MAKING MONEY. Our threshhold is $60. It's bad. It has to come back up. The country needs oil and gas, but oil and gas companies can't afford to drill for it at these prices. It just has to come back up. The win-win in my opinion would be for crude to back up to around $80-$90/bbl and gasoline to be around $2.50. We could all live with that and I could stop worrying that I will be let go. But what do I know? I've never worried about losing my job, but prices haven't been this low since I got in the business. I DO NOT want to have to look for another job!!

Not much new

Not a lot going on this week. The girls and I ran to McKinney yesterday to get the backing for 2 of my three new quilts. The first lady that helped us was not all the excited about my treasures, but then some random lady walked in and recognized the beauty in the old quilts. She and I talked about them for a while and spread them out to appreciate them. We identified old ties, curtains, dresses, mens dress shirts and lots of old feed sacks that had been used to make them. Did you know that after the Depression they started making feed sacks out of brightly colored material to lift the spirits of those who were buying it? I had a tough time, over an hour just to pick out 2 fabrics, picking out what would look right. There was very little that matched within either quilt, but I wanted to pick what my great grandmother would have picked. In the end, I went with very muted fabrics so as not to distract from the beauty of the quilt front. One was a brushed cotton stipe, much like the men's shirt material already in it, and one was a soft yellow floral that's mostly solid. I can't wait to have them done at Thanksgiving. And did I mention the deal I'm getting on the quilting part? In the metroplex it would cost over $300 each to have them machine quilted. In the sticks of Oklahoma I'm paying $200 total for all three. Can you say BARGAIN? I'm just so proud of them!

Not much else going on this week, just work, Christmas shopping, getting ready for Thanksgiving and working on preparations for my first complete Christmas dinner. Aaron is off this year ALL DAY for the first time in 6 years on Christmas day!! In fact, he got Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving (because his regular days off are Thursday and Friday), Christmas Eve, (it was his first choice and they usually get their first choice) and Christmas day! I am ecstatic!
I'm having my dad's side of the family over and I'm doing the whole meal! Must get started planning!
Almost done with Christmas shopping and hoping to have it all done by Thanksgiving, with the exception of Aaron's gifts. I've never actually accomplished this, but I'm pushing hard this year to get it done.

Paige and Addie are having Thanksgiving feasts next week so I need to pick up their supplies while I'm out....goldfish and cheese cubes.

Big weekend

Just got all unpacked from a big weekend out of town.  We started the weekend by going out to eat with some friends.  We had a great time.  I tasted my first $410 bottle of champagne.....not impressed.  Could have spent that money somewhere much wiser.  (We went back to Cru, Michelle)  The girls stayed at home with Mema.  They had a ball making a homemade dress for Paige's class pet Karla.  Karla is the stuff Koala that everyone gets to take home the week that they are the "sheriff of the week".  This is Paige's week so Karla spent the weekend with us.  Now she's going back to school all dressed up!  Saturday the girls and I got up early and headed to Wichita Falls to go to the yearly Christmas Arts and Craft show Christmas Magic.  Waste of time this year.  I was only able to find a plate and a plaque that I couldn't live without.  The girls got their faces painted, saw Santa and McGruff the crime dog.  They had a pretty good time.  We did manage to hit a good sale on Christmas stuff at Hobby Lobby and some good deals at Kohls.  Santa finished up his stocking shopping for the girls as well.  Then we headed home to create Paige's Sheriff of the Week all about me poster for Paige.  It turned out so cute.  Hopefully I can figure out how to post a picture of it here.  Sunday we spent a lazy day at Nana's before we headed home.  We had a decent trip home and were sound asleep by 8:15.  A little later than mom likes, but decent.  Both were exhausted.  

The most exciting part about my weekend is what I brought home from my mom's house.  I've always been pretty sentimental about "things" that belong to my grandparents and great grandparents.  And the older I get, the more sentimental I become.  So this weekend I asked my mom if she would find the quilt top that my aunt made for me when I was little that we've never had quilted.  She's actually my great aunt, my grandfather's sister, and I was named after here.  So while mom was digging that out she came across two more quilt tops that belonged to my great grandmother, my PawPaw's mother, that I never knew.  These were some VERY impressive quilts.  They were at least 55 years old and were stitched by hand.  They are either full or queen size and have thousands of pieces of material on them.  I cannot imagine the hours it must have taken to make these.  It's also fascinating to me to imagine what all this fabric must have been at one point.  It's not like they just ran down to Hobby Lobby back then and bought all this fabric just to make a new quilt.  This would have been old shirts, old dresses, pants, etc.  They were "green" before green was cool.  I'm very proud of them and I'm taking them at Thanksgiving to a lady to have them quilted.  After all these years, they will finally be finished.  I'm so excited.  I will post pics when I get them all done.  The one from my aunt isn't hand stitched, it's machine stitched, but it's about 20 years old and done especially for me. I can't wait until it's finished.

Ok, I edited this because I figured out how to add camera phone pictures.  Go me!

These may not be the most beautiful quilts in the world, but the work it took to make them and the love that they were made with really means a lot to me.  So proud to have them!

This is the one my Great Aunt made just for me!

This one my Great Grandmother made about 60 years ago.  

  

Also made by my Great Grandma 

  

 I'm tired now and I'm going to go catch up on ER and Private Practice from last week.  

My Big Soap Box

So......did you vote today?  I have a huge soap box every 4 years.  Those who don't vote, don't get to gripe.  And I have a feeling we have quite a bit of griping ahead of us.  We live in such a great, free country that it's such a shame when people don't take advantage of this privilege.  Not a right, a privilege thanks to those who have found and died for us defending that privilege.  If for no other reason, I vote because there are so many in this world who can't.  What a blessing.  

All that being said, man am I nervous about tonight's results!!!  

Mr Clean, Mr Clean

Oh how I love a clean house.  After searching for over a year for a new house keeper, I finally found one I love!!!  My old one apparently fired me and didn't tell me, nor give me a reason.  Oh well.  My new lady, Maritza is awesome!  She does an awesome job and she cracks up at my kids. There's few things I love more than the smell of a freshly cleaned house.  I have these great memories of coming home when I was young on cleaning day when Judy had been there.  Before I ever put my key in the door I could smell the Pine Sol.  What a great smell!!  

Now if I could only get that laundry under control!