I survived!

So, I survived the Christmas holiday. We had Christmas on 4 separate days with 4 different groups of people. Two of the days were at my house. It was a great time having my family in town and was so good to see everyone. Now, all my decorations are down and packed away for next year. I'm catching up on some laundry and cleaning. Plan to head to the store later to buy items for New Year's Eve as we plan to have 25-30 people at our house that evening. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and we are wishing you a very happy New Year!

Christmas Eve

So yesterday was a low key day (which I needed). The kids and I spent most of the day baking cookies as we couldn't really leave the house. We had an ice storm hit yesterday. I tried to go to the gym about 2:00 and got to the end of our block, tried to stop and my car kept going and hit the curb (no damage done). At that point I decided I would forgo my 3 mile run and work it into another day.

Today is going to be a little more hectic. Need to go to the gym, run to the store and pick up a few last minute items, do some light cleaning and then Gigi's plan lands around 3:00 (Jeremy is going to pick her up). Church tonight is at 6:00 and then we have Christmas with Brad's family after that.

So, as you see, not much extra time today. Fortunately, the temperature has gone up a bit so I'm hoping the ice on the roads will melt quickly.

Stay safe!

Christmas Eve eve

Ok, so it's the day before Christmas Eve and it's been crazy around here. My sister and her family (3 kids ages 3, 2 and 2 months along with her husband) arrived on Saturday afternoon. I got to meet my new niece, Mikaya Rose. She is a beautiful little girl! Mel and the family spent a couple hours with us on Saturday before heading to Jeremy's cousin's house (where they are staying).

Sunday morning we headed to church where I was in our adult Christmas program. Mel and Jeremy and kids came with us. After church Mel and Jeremy went to see the Lion King play showing at a theater downtown. So, Brad and I got to watch the 3 little ones for about 3 1/2 hours. I forgot how much work little kids are (especially when there are three of them), but we survived. My kids (ages 10 and 12) were a huge help! That evening we headed back to church for the kids' Christmas program.

After the evening program everyone came back to my house (my family, Mel and her family and Ben) for dinner (french dip subs and chips). Then we decided to play Rock Band on the Xbox 360. Mel and Jeremy had never played so it was fun to watch them get the hang of it. We had a great time. They headed out about 9:15 and I think everyone crashed shortly after.

Yesterday was another crazy day. Got up and went out to finish some last minute shopping (from 9 a.m. to noon). Ben met me back at our house shortly after noon and ate lunch. Mel and family arrived around 1:00. Melanie's friend Lindsey came over to cut Jacee and Dawson's hair. I think Dawson was under the impression that Lindsey's scissors were going to cut him and not his hair as he screamed every time she went to use them. It was quite and ordeal but we all got through it. In the meantime, the kids and I were making Christmas cut out cookies. After all had their hair cut and were cleaned up, we decided to decorate the cookies. Jacee was very content to let Aunt Melissa put the icing on and then she "decorated" with sprinkles. She was very decisive about the cookie and color she wanted and she did a great job. Dawson was mostly interested in seeing how much stuff he could get on his cookie before he shoved it in his mouth. It was so funny to watch. After Mel told him he couldn't have any more cookies, he decided he would dump sprinkles on his plate and eat those (see there's always a loophole). They all left about 5:30 as Jeremy's family was getting together for dinner.

(Oh, I did get a 4 mile run in with a little bit of some strength training at 2:00 - much needed.)

Ben was over last night to watch the season finale of our favorite show - Prison Break - and then he headed home and I headed to bed completely exhausted.

Today should be a little calmer. No shopping to do, some cooking and baking, all presents are wrapped. It's mostly going to consist of relaxing, cooking and hopefully going to run. We are supposed to get some ice this afternoon and evening, so any errands I may need to run, I'll make sure to get done this a.m. Grandma arrives tomorrow afternoon and then all the holiday festivities begin.

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

The lists

Ok, so those who know me well know that I'm a list-maker. I make lists for everything...groceries, work items, lists for my lists, etc. So, of course with the upcoming holidays I've made not one, not two but SIX lists. What in the world would I need a list for you might ask??? Well, here they are:

1. Christmas gift list - complete with name of person, store where to purchase, cost and if it has been completed or not
2. Menu for this week - our week this week is as crazy as usual with a little added stress. Christmas is only a week away, my sister and her family get into town on Saturday, the kids have many activities including basketball and soccer, Christmas program rehearsals, work, etc. I need to have some level of sanity and knowing what we are having for dinner each night sure does help.
3. Menu for next week - with family in town (sister and family arrive Saturday, Grandma arrives on Christmas Eve and Mom and Dad arrive on Christmas day) I need to make sure everyone is fed. Besides, those who know me well also know my love for entertaining. I love preparing nice meals and trying new things so I can't just "fly by the seat of my pants" on the menu.
4. Grocery list - with all the menu items, it helps to know what I need to buy. The worst thing would be to run short on food. Honestly, what would that do to my reputation? There's always food in my house.
5. Wish list - these are the items I would like to do to our house. I was hoping to get all 17 items done before Christmas, but I've come to the sad realization that it's not going to happen. We've had to prioritize and get done what we could. There are a couple of items I still plan to do before Saturday.
6. To do list - with the impending company, there is the deep cleaning that needs to be done. This includes wiping down cabinets, dusting baseboards, etc.

So, as you can see, I keep my life organized with lists. I'm addicted. I get great satisfaction by marking things off of lists. I love that sense of accomplishment. Well, off to mark more off my to do list.

I just realized, I have one more list - my half marathon training. It's more of a schedule, but I get to mark things off, so it's still the same sense of accomplishment :)

2 weeks...can you believe it?

I'm floored by how quickly time is flying by. It is 15 days until Christmas and boy do I have alot to do. Our weekly schedules are absolutely insane. Maryna made the school basketball team, so she has practice every day after school. Garrett has soccer every Saturday, Brad plays on Tuesdays and Sundays and I am working out everyday (except Fridays) and playing on Sundays. To add to the craziness, we have rehearsal for Christmas programs 2x this week and 2-3x next week. I have yet to shop and have lots of baking to do. Will the madness ever end???? I fear not.

Three weeks and counting

So, it's three weeks until Christmas...that's 21 days. Only 20 more shopping days. Can you believe it? And what have I accomplished? Not much. No Christmas decorations have been put up, no presents purchased. The kids and I have made 3 batches of oreo balls (teacher gifts) and placed in the freezer. Brad and I have a list of "to do" items on our fridge - things we want to get done before my family comes at Christmas. Every day Garrett has to remind us how many things are left on the list. It started with 17 items. I think we are down to 13. I know, not much progress. However, we did spend alot of time over Thanksgiving break organizing and rearranging items. I took 23 bags of clothes, toys and other items to Goodwill. I love just clearing things out. My next big project.....painting. There are several rooms in my house that need repainted, however, I'm not sure how much will actually get done.

I know our schedule is probably just as crazy as everyone else's. It seems like we have something every week and weekend until New Year's. This Saturday consists of Garrett's soccer game at 11:20 and then our church Christmas dinner at 6:30. Sunday consists of the normal chaos. The kids have been dying to put up the tree and other decorations, so I'm hoping we can get that accomplished tomorrow evening. It's at least something to shoot for. Hope all your holiday cooking and planning is going well. If you come across any great Christmas food ideas, please let me know. I'm putting together menus for that week and I'm always open to new things.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

So, here in Indiana, you never know what the weather is going to do. Thanksgiving day was beautiful...sunny and 50 degrees. But the Sunday following???? Not so much. Here's what I woke up to yesterday and then again today.

As excited as I am about the upcoming Christmas season, I was not yet ready for the white stuff. Oh well, it had to come eventually.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday, ate plenty of turkey and was still conscious enough to watch OU whip OSU and be named to the Big 12 Championship game this weekend :)

Have a great cyber Monday and don't spend too much money all in one place!