Christmas Prep with Lil Red

Thursday evening marked the beginning of my "Christmas break." Five whole days of family time. Ahhhhhhhh. I could just feel the weight of work lifted from my shoulders. I decided to kick-off our big weekend with a trip to see Monster Inc in 3D. Nanny and Kylie were able to join us girls for the 7:00 show. Hallie chatted about monsters and popcorn the whole way there. She even practiced her meanest monster growls in prep for the movie. Our partners were waiting for us at the door with tickets, popcorn and drinks. The royal treatment! All of Hal's monster prep went right out the window once we sat down inside. A lot of wiggling and whining, about ten minutes of somewhat patiently sitting on Nanny's lap and then finally hopping down to escape. Kylie and I followed her to the arcade where she made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with monsters or 3D glasses. And she definitely didn't have any plans to stay quiet. So I did what any prudent mom would do.....I called her dad to come pick her up and then enjoyed the rest of the movie! ;) Those 3D glasses sure came in handy as a stylish accessory the day after....

On Friday morning my shopping partner helped me look for a Christmas party dress. I found a dress. She found a backpack. There was no way we were leaving without that backpack.....

She even napped with it around her arm. You never know when you might need a map while you're sleeping...

We definitely needed it post-nap for our trip to the park. Good thing we had some fruit snacks and a map for our one block walk to the playground....

Come Saturday morning there really were no words to describe how stoked I was about the Christmas weekend ahead of us. My to-do list was rather long but I welcomed it since I had plenty of time to cross off those items that had stacked up. In true Christmas eve eve eve fashion I began to question whether I had picked out just the right gifts for all of our loved ones. This happens every year at the last minute. I do my best to get all shopping done by mid-December, give myself a big pat on the back, wrap them up a couple weeks in advance and marvel at the beauty of all the pretty packages under the tree.........and then inevitably convince myself that I need to buy more. And then I do. And then I kick myself while I'm digging the wrapping paper back out to pretty up the new pile of gifts. And then I'm really DONE when Riley walks in and says "didn't you say you were done shopping a month ago???" Yes, honey, I have a problem. While I was out on my last minute shopping excursion I realized that Lil Red might just be the key to me overcoming my problem. She was in no mood to be browsing through stores. Well, I guess I need to give her some credit. It wasn't ALL bad......

Innocent enough, right?

Um, no. 

No crying in the first store. Just wiggling around on the floor in her new white tights as I cringed. I continued cringing as she frolicked around the playground across the street from our first stop. I hovered like I'd never hovered before. I was NOT going to let her rip her new dress during her impromptu play session. I'm obviously all about the fun! ;) She didn't seem to mind her neurotic mother....

Our second stop was a bit challenging. Whew. I felt like I'd just ran a marathon after juggling her, my purse, my bags and trying to keep her out of the merchandise. She was getting ramped up even more during our stop at ACE. I should've just turned around and headed home at that point.....

But I didn't. Nope, what I did do was endure the most embarrassing parent moment in 29 months of Hallie's little life. I could feel the glares from the other shoppers. Their eyes were searing through me saying "control your heathen!" I was trying. Trust me. But my heavens, I'm not even good at disciplining in the privacy of my own home let alone in a crowded store full of people. Miss thang did get a spanking on our way to the car. I could not get out of that store fast enough! She confessed to her dad that she had been a "bad girl" when we got back to the house. And don't even think for a moment that Santa wouldn't have been disappointed in her shenanigans once we got home. I was busy preparing some lunch in the kitchen when I heard a loud BANG! I turned to find Hallie cowered down over the candle holder that had been pushed over. There was no doubt that she knew she'd been bad. I couldn't help but snicker as she side-stepped behind the tree and turned her head away in hopes that I wouldn't see her....

"Elf on the Shelf did it, mom!"

A little shut-eye did my cantankerous little elf some good. Quite a bit of good actually. She was chipper and full of giggles after waking up from a nap. In hopes of saving some steam for cooking later that night I took the easy route and ordered pizza. The pizza thief was thrilled about my choice....

She stayed busy for quite some time picking the toppings off the pizza and not letting a piece get past her grubby little hands.....

If you want to enjoy your slice of pizza then make sure not to sit next to Hal gal. She will stop at nothing to get her hands on all of your toppings! ;) I even found her here looking for leftovers.....

Thursday, Friday and Saturday FLEW BY!!! No really, they were just a complete blur of free time and fun. The second half of "Christmas break" is flying by as well......it's been an amazing time so far and I can't wait to share it with the blog world!

Christmas P*A*R*T*I*E*S!!!

I'm surprised that the calendar on my phone will still let me add events. I'm convinced that any day now a message will pop up and say "You idiot! Stop scheduling things and sit down and relax!" Well that wouldn't be in my nature, now would it? ;) Busy, busy we have been.....tis the season, right? We'd had several holiday work/social events this season and it'd be a sin not to blog about each of them as they were all good times!

On December 5th we celebrated another year of success and the upcoming holiday at my boss's house with my whole work crew and our spouses. The Cake Lady catered so the food was delish and the drinks were plentiful. We added a couple of new faces to our work fam this past year and they were immersed in our very literal version of Dirty Santa. No holding back....the more shocking, the better! This year was no exception. I felt a little more prepared this year having had last year under my belt. I didn't have my camera with me that night so there is no picture evidence of our fun but you'll have to take my word for it. Lots of laughs were had! In fact, my cheeks were sore when we left that night. 

Our second Christmas celebration was at Blue Water Grill for the hospital's managers dinner. Free food, free drinks, door prizes and funny people. There were so many people there that I wanted to chat with but wasn't able to because of the way the tables were arranged. Although I'm surprised that I even recognized the other people around me after two of these puppies.....

Hallie was at home in good hands with Miss Blayre from church. She gave a good report when we returned home....but you could tell that Hal called the shots that night. She had "redecorated" the house. The margaritas made cleaning up the house a little less tedious.

Two down....four to go......

I was giddy this year about hosting some Christmas parties at our home. Considering last year we were surrounded by boxes and living in a house that still reeked of paint fumes. The only decorations we had last year was the tree that Nanny and Kylie so graciously transported from the rent house into our new home. After painstakingly decorating every last inch of the living room and dining room I was ready to share the festiveness with my friends. I hosted our annual Alpha Gamma Christmas social on December 10th along with my lovely co-hostess, Lauren. Some of my favorite ladies under my roof for a night of celebrating....IT. WAS. WONDERFUL.

The Red Pants Society ;)

The hospital Christmas party was held at the new convention center in town and was a drastic change from last year's scene. The place was beautiful, the food was delicious and my hubby was looking both beautiful and delicious....

....and so were things pretties...

....and so was this pretty lady.....

I know, I'm pathetic......those are the only pics I took the whole night. But I did snag a keeper of a video that Riley would probably rather me delete. He got roasted. No, not that kind of roasted. Roasted roasted. A comedian was the entertainment for the evening and had done some pretty detailed research about the administration team. Riley turns a few shades of red and I could see his chest moving up and down at a rapid rate as the comedian picked on him in front of the big crowd. It was hilarious! Take my word for it! We ended up leaving much earlier than I would've preferred but my old man said he had a bedtime to stick to. Me? I spent the rest of our so-called night out in bed with my computer on my lap blogging the night away. Pretty sad for a couple of parents whose child was having a sleepover with her grandparents, right? Oh well. C'est la vie!

I put on my hostess pants for another social at my house this week with another group of wonderful ladies that I've come to call my friends....I feel so blessed to have been embraced by some amazing women in this town. It was a potluck style meal with a delicious array of options. I ate my weight in food and didn't feel a bit of shame...for Christmas' sake! ;) I gladly accepted the laid-back-ness of the social as I had almost run out of holiday steam at the beginning of the week. It felt good to breath a sigh of relief once everything was cleaned up and I knew I had conquered the holiday hosting task for the season.

We had only one more party on the calendar and we went out with a bang. The Alexander's Christmas party was an absolute blast! As always I look forward to any occasion that involves getting dressed up and wearing heals. Last year we showed up two hours late since we had had the hospital party on the same night so I was looking forward to being there for the whole thing. Cari and I had schemed about ways to get the hubbies excited about going. It worked....sort of. They were good sports alongside their party-ready wives.....

I just gonna go out on a limb and guess that they are talking about work

See what I mean?!?! Good sport.....

Kelly, Dave, Kim and Rocky rounded out the hospital crew of hubbies and wives. It was great to see so many familiar faces.....

I hunted Jennifer down over in the dining room and she listened to me ramble as I downed about 500 giant oatmeal cookies. It was a great chat!!!

Us girls spent the later part of the evening trying to hide around corners in hopes of avoiding our husbands who were dwindling down and ready to head home. But wouldn't ya know it, THEY FOUND US!!

Tired guy #1

Tired guy #2

Tired guy #3

The tired guys eventually won the battle. I think I had enough energy saved up to last another couple hours but knowing that Hallie Grace was still awake refusing to go to bed for Miss Blayre made it easier to head home. Baby girl was waiting up for us...I guess she missed us a bit. She ran toward me and nearly knocked me over in my heels....the little monkey has never hugged me tighter than she did last night. In that moment I was glad that she stayed up two hours past her bedtime. It was a great night all around. One thing's for sure, Bobby and Brenda sure know how to throw a shindig!

That about sums it up! Whew!!! Deep breath. Sigh. When I finish typing this puppy it's time to get geared up for family Christmas this weekend. I'm just a little  LOT excited about having my family here for the second year in a row. Cheesecake to make, rooms to clean, floors to sweep, presents to wrap....I'd better get going!!!!!

All Things Christmas: A Busy December

December has been one very fast-moving rollercoaster that doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon to let me hop off and get my bearings. Tis the season to be busy!!! Amidst all the busyness and running to and fro I've had an awful lot of fun, good times and made some great memories so far this Christmas season. I've stacked up lots of stories and pictures to share. I've had good intentions of keeping up with all of the goings on as they happen but alas that has not been possible. More than enough baking and decorating, lots of celebrating, five holiday parties, two more to come, church Christmas program, visiting Santa Clause, downtown Christmas parade, a sick babe, a graduation in the mix and some fun family time coming up = the need for a big deep breath. So without further ado, here's a little December review (nice rhyme, huh?)....

One of the women's groups I'm a part of had a bake auction so I did some last minute magic and put together these cute little cookie plates with the recipes attached. I was so happy with how they turned out....

We visited Nanny's house to see her newest outdoor Christmas decorations...and the cat of course....we LOVE the cat...and want to hold the cat....all by ourself.....

Miss Priss was in awe of the giant Minnie and Mickey smooching in the front yard....

Last Friday evening we spent the day at home together on my day off. But it wouldn't be a day off without our weekly trip disaster to Walmart. We had quite the extensive shopping list and I actually contemplated asking the door greeter if she would like to watch my child for $20 while I shopped. Oh wait, who am I kidding?? Our Walmart doesn't even have carts available let alone someone standing at the front of the store.  Now, onto bigger issues....the fact that my daughter views Walmart as a giant playground to display her shenanigans. Things did not go well. They just didn't. Things went sort of like this....

The Nilla Wafers were just a pawn she used in her game of "I bet you can't stop me from doing this, mom." And that look on her face above is was most likely a product of the steam coming out of my ears. Ok, so enough about the WORST. WALMART. TRIP. EVER. We moved on to some fun that afternoon at home after her nap. She did some coloring on a crafty project....

And then it was time for some real fun......

I picked up a gingerbread house kit during our shopping trip and was amazed to see that Lil Red hadn't demolished it by tossing it in and out of the basket over and OVER. Her little wondrous eyes were wide with  excitement as she helped me place the pieces of the house together. She was a pro with the gumball roof....

My love bug standing next to her candy house with a sweet smile was worth all the hugs in the world....

Pretty excited!

The frosting to candy ratio was a bit off and left me cringing just a tad but my OCD ways took a backseat to fun with my girl. It turned out super cute and pretty awesome for a toddler's work I must say....

After we cleaned up all of the candy that had rolled around on the floor I took Hallie across town for another fun Christmas surprise. She bundled up in the cold and wandered through the park toward the new train station where she found none other than her dad and Papa operating the train....

She didn't quite know what to think when we hopped on for a ride....

"Woah. So where are the seatbelts on this thing?!"

Mr. Money Taker

Papa Bill honked the horn a few extra times for his granddaughter who thoroughly enjoyed her trip around the park.....

She enjoyed herself so much that she was not willing to hop off the train once it stopped. So we rode again!!

The following morning we got the lil girl gussied up in her new Christmas attire to take pictures at Nanny's house. After the girls had put forth the best effort we could expect Hallie and I did a little downtown shopping....

"Mommy, that dress is just not working for you"

All of the shopping had worked up quite an appetite in Hal so she helped herself to a snack....

Disassembling at its sweetest

I gladly used some quiet time that afternoon to do some more shopping downtown minus my goofy sidekick who was home napping. I tried out the antique mall for the first time and was thrilled to come home with a big steal!

Hallie had some tiny guests over last week while Rachelle and I rummaged through my closet looking for dresses. Hal and her boyfriend Kyler sipped on some apple juice and perused through her new Christmas book while sitting like big kids at the bar....

"Could you give us some privacy please?"

Miss Lily was so sweet and did some reading with Hal too....

I (along with everyone else who's been over to the house) have been incredibly surprised by Hallie's gentleness with all of the Christmas decorations strewn about the house. No broken ornaments, no nothin'. She just doesn't seem to be interested in disassembling things. Well, maybe there is one exception. Hal and Riley did some shopping the other night when I kicked them out of our house while I hosted a Christmas party. Riley describes this shopping trip kinda like this: "I let her roam around and pick out what she thought you would like." When he asked her where she thought they should shop for me she responded by saying "K-Mart." And when he questioned her about what I like she replied with "God." I'm not sure if they sell "God" at K-Mart but I do know what they ended up getting at WALmart. How do I know what they got? Well, my darling daughter got so wrapped up (no pun intended) in helping her dad wrap my "gifts" that she just couldn't handle the suspense of waiting until Christmas. 

Finishing up the present tagging process

I left the room for a few minutes and returned to find her little self on the floor ripping into the paper.....

I told the little elves to put these special gifts under the "momma tree." Ya see, Hal has named each of our trees. And wouldn't ya know it, she named them the biggest one the "dada tree", the middle-sized one the "momma tree" and the baby tree the "Hallie tree." I know you all are dying to know what she picked out for me at the store but it'll just have to wait until Christmas. Although I will share one thing: a kickball. So loved, so loved. ;) 

We had our first family celebration this past weekend at Nanny and Papa's house. It had been a very busy week and weekend capped off by some family time and a delicious dinner prepared by everyone. Hallie chose to forego the Christmasy attire and cut back on the laundry for momma by wearing this adorable outfit she'd worn to church that morning.....

There were 25 present and it was a house full! I didn't take near as many pictures as I normally would've simply because I was busy keeping my eye on Hal hoping that she wouldn't strangle the cat, pound on the piano or be mean to one of her cousins. Here's what my camera caught that night.....

Sarah & Bear

Wonderwoman toting in the whole car!

"Do we haaaaaave to eat?"

Eat schmeat....it's playtime!"

How many cousins can we fit on piano bench?

Silly girls playing "hide go seek"

Eyes glued to the iPad

Me thinks someone wants to change her Santa request from babydoll to iPad

Pretty mommy and daughter

Riley's grandpa Jerry and Judy

Grandma Ida and her boy

An evening full of smiles

There you have it! Throw in a handful of Christmas parties and a partridge in a pear tree and we've had ourselves a busy December. It ain't over yet....Let it be known that I will purchase ALL Christmas treats next year. My kitchen has seen way too much of me this holiday season and I'm ready to throw in the potholders. Oh but wait....a weekend ahead full of cooking and hosting family! But I wouldn't have it any other way.....CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!!!!!