These Are A Few of My Favorite (Christmas) Things

I have been meaning to share a little bit of our Christmas here with you. This Christmas is very special, because it is our first with Wook! I love watching his little eyes light up every time we plug in the tree. DH and I chat about keeping our minds on the real reason we celebrate Christmas. I am so thankful that God sent his only son that day, to live on this earth, live a perfect life, and then die for us, so that we may be forgiven for our sins and one day spend eternity with Him. Having a son of my own has really laid on my heart what a HUGE gift that truly is. Huge does not even begin to describe it. I love spending time with family this time of year, even with the chaos and traveling from here to there. My favorite place to be this time of year is here at home. Here are a few of my favorite Christmas "things".


This is the Nativity scene my Granny gave us our first Christmas married. I think it is absolutely beautiful in its simplicity. (Please excuse the baby lotion bottle.)


Our tree ("hidden" in the dining room this year for the Wookie's safety sake)


Of course our tree would not be complete without it paying homage to DH's alma mater Georgia Tech!

My parents passed this ornament on to me when I moved out on my own. It is one that we had on our tree for as long as I can remember.


A new one this year!



This is one of the ornaments DH's lovely Grandmother paints each year and shares with friends and family.

What cat lover doesn't love an adorable kitty ornament! (not cat lover as in "crazy old lady with 81 cats and 13 litter boxes")


And what Christmas would be complete without "A Christmas Story" wrapping paper. DH and I found it last year at Wally-World and being our hoarding selves, we bought enough rolls for this year too!

Here is my favorite "Snowbabies" piece. I have collected them since I was a little girl. DH gave me this one last Christmas!


I love rustic looking snowmen or uh families!


My yummy Santa tart warmer.

And last but certainly not least...........

Reindeer Bax! And we didn't even have to bribe him with treats to get him to do this.

Grocery List

So Heather over at "Want What You Have" seems to love lists as much as I do. I write lists for everything! But I have never thought about looking at other peoples lists? Something new to try!

She asked that just for fun we post our grocery lists. Well I spent 3 hours in Wally-World yesterday for our once-a-month shop-a-thon. You don't want to spend the time looking at that list!!!!! So I guess I can post my Target list for today.

DH birthday DVD
funky tags for presents (I'm making the grocery bag pom-poms this year!) I'll link it up.
Nascar item for cousin
diapers
baby food
method dish soap
method all purpose cleaner
Rainforest Cruise and Crawl toy for Wook's "Santa"
chocolate candy for my Granddaddy's Annual Candy Goodie Bag (enough to last him until Valentine's Day)

If there are any strange errors in this, please excuse, Wook has learned how to bang the keys on the laptop. Yikes!

Easy Peppermint Bark

One year DH and I sampled a yummy peppermint bark at an extremely overpriced store, one that you love to look around in but can't afford to buy anything, Silliams and Wonoma. (The names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent. We loved it and realized how easy it would be to recreate. Seriously, it SIMPLE, and it relieves stress (see below).





You will need:
1 pack of almond bark
1 pack of peppermint candy canes (12)
a cookie sheet
a butter knife
a mallet or hammer

First make your DH unwrap all the candy canes because this gets annoying. If you have a small but not too small child, make (ask) them to do it.
Melt your almond bark in the microwave (do not overcook) at 30 second increments.
Beat the daylights out of or crush to smithereens the candy canes in a freezer bag (this is the stress relieving part).
Add the crushed peppermint to the melted almond bark and stir.
Pour onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Place in the freezer/refrigerator until hard.
Use the knife and mallet to crack the bark into unique pieces, as small as you want. Place on a tray and enjoy!

My husbands has the guys at work request this every year at his Christmas Goodie Day. I'm kinda stuck making it every year now! But who cares when its this easy. I also have this in my Goodie Baskets for friends and family. There will be a post on those coming soon!

Menu Plan Monday

OrgJunkie has inspired me to start posting my Menu each week. I usually do it for the month with a few changes here and there but why not post it each week? Maybe I'll even get caught up and get the recipes on here?!

Monday: Family Holiday Leftovers (Ham, Turkey, Squash Casserole, Dressing, Green Beans)
Tuesday: Slowcooker BBQ Chicken, Corn Cobblets, Broccoli
Wednesday: Hamburger Helper, Sweet Peas
Thursday: DH Work Christmas Party!
Friday: Chicken-n-Dumplings, Green Beans
Saturday: Leftover Buffet
Sunday: Shepherd's Pie (ground beef, mashed potatoes, corn, onion, peas)

My First Blog Award

Here is my very first blog award given to me by momstheword!
She gave these away to some new bloggers! Thanks for making me feel so special in this big blogger-ific world.

Couch Potato

So I have shared my love/hate relationship with our current couch and love seat.
These were perfect for us almost 4 years ago when we got married and bought our first home. Sadly, however, I have grown to despise them. The pattern reminds me of something you would see in the sitting area of a retirement home, and we have flipped all the cushions due to tears and rips from it being so loved on by us, the wook, and the cats.
They were great while they lasted but they gotta go! We are paying someone to take them off our hands, I mean selling them cheap.

We started looking for a new-to us set on CraigsList and agreed to a budget of under $500. We wanted something in really good shape that we would not have to turn around a replace in a year or two.

We checked out a sectional on Monday and DH left work early to meet me. He was in love when he saw that the love seat was actually 2 recliners. The two of us stepped outside in the freezing cold with the Wook to talk about who would play good cop/bad cop. What a steal $500 for a microfiber sectional in almost mint condition (so we thought). Apparently I had looked at one or ten too many postings and gotten the price confused. We returned inside with DH prepared to make a deal and take those recliners home, when the woman reminded us that she was asking $800. I waited for DH's voice to crack and look at me like I had lost it. He calmly informed the seller that we would have to return home and measure the living room again to ensure that the sectional fit in our small living space. What tact and quick on his feet-ness! Not me! She could probably see me flipping through ALL the postings I had been researching in my brain. I am sure I let out an unusual groan or moan. Well we left empty handed with nothing for DH to prop his tired working feet on.

Tuesday we headed out again to look at another set. I fell in love with them! They were very close to what I pictured myself lounging on, sipping coffee in the mornings, blogging my heart out! I am pretty sure I asked the owner what she was asking at least four times, just to ensure there was not repeat of Monday. DH could see how much I loved them, and they were $175 less than our budgeted max. We talked it out on the way home and decided that they were a great deal especially if we could get anything for our old ones. I was also impressed that the owner also had two cats who had not used the couches as scratching posts. Yippee Skippee.... Here are our new couches (well new to us) that we got for a great deal on CraigsList. And the owner even delivered them for us this evening! I think they make our living space much warm and inviting.
The pictures do not even begin to do them justice!!


Our cats were even excited! (The Siamese one did not croak from her overwhelmed joy for something new to scratch upon, she is just playing possum.)

Oreo Truffles

I came across this really yummy recipe. They had me at Oreos and cream cheese!

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.

DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

8 Things

So I picked this idea up from Heather over at Wanting What You Have. She inspires me daily. It sounded like fun!

8 Things I Love
1. Honey Buns (My Granddaddy got me hooked on these at an early age!)
2. HOT Showers (I mean so hot you almost can't stand it) I missed these while I was pregnant.
3. Painting Furniture or anything that stays still long enough.
4. Target
5. Organizing anything. This also includes any form of organization/decorating TV.
6. Wrapping Presents
7. Singing in the shower (I sound good y'all!)
8. Taking pictures

8 Things that give me the Hebbie-Jebbies
1. Staying home alone at night.
2. Bees, Wasps, Yellow Jackets, you get the idea
3. When I wake up and one of our cats is right in my face, staring. (Is she plotting to kill me?)
4. Small children with snotty noses. The kind where you know it needed wiping a long time ago. Sniff Sniff. (I just want to help them blow it!)
5. Dogs I do not know (well I don't know many dogs, but dogs that belong to people I don't know)
6. The drill at the dentist (who likes that one?)
7. I cannot believe I am sharing this one. I have this weird OCD thing that someone is hiding behind the shower curtain when I am peeing. I always look before sitting down, it doesn't matter where I am. If I have been to your house and used the restroom, I have checked behind your shower curtain. You hope it was clean don't you!
8. Restaurant DHR scores. It starts to get hairy for me when they are below 90!

8 Places I have been
1. Washington, DC
2. Savannah, GA
3. Atlanta, GA
4. Calico Rock, AR
5. Chattanooga, TN
6. Ellisville, MS
7. Tybee Island, GA
8. Myrtle Beach, SC
I don't get out of Georgia that much!

8 Random Facts about me:
1. I used to be a clogger! Yehaw!
2. I love mayo...on anything.
3. I bite my fingernails....horrifically into the quick, gross I know.
4. I miss teaching sometimes.
5. I have always had a cat and I can name all of them for you.
6. I hate to wear socks or shoes.
7. I once had an imaginary friend named Jenny. Then I went to the beach with my parents and met a real life Jenny and didn't need her anymore.
8. I secretly played Barbies until I was in the 8th grade! I would do anything now for a little Barbie time.

8 TV Shows I love:
1. The Office. Many quotes I don't feel like sharing because Michael makes me so very uncomfortable. " "I'm an early bird and I'm a night owl, so I'm wise and have worms."
- Michael
2. Office Re-runs My fav. is the one where Dwight kills Angela's, puts the cat into her freezer to preserve its body, BUT it isn't dead and it claws into her bag of frozen french fries.
3. Grey's Anatomy...but it is about to get scratched off this list due to the recent raunch-factor. We find ourselves having to fast forward through too much.
4. Dawson's Creek. I loved this show, sad I know.
5. Ellen. This one I Tivo and flip through just for her web videos alone.
6. Design on a Dime, Decorating Cents, anything that shows people with an insane amount of clutter being helped.
7. Tabitha's Salon Takeover (She is a KILLER)
8. America's Funniest Home Videos (I love watching cute babies and people doing stupid things that almost get them hurt or killed.)

Spoiled and Exhausted

Today is day three of the Wook's Sleep Strike.

Let me back up a little bit. My husband has what he calls "Early Weeks" at work. During these weeks he has to go into work at 7am in order to present at the morning meeting. Fortunately, his "turn" only comes around once every 6 weeks, thanks to the other folks in his department.

We have been extremely lucky since our Wookster began sleeping through the night at 6 weeks. And by through the night I mean 8pm-5am. I could handle one short breastfeeding at 5am, knowing I would be back in dreamland by 5:30am. Not long after, Wooks, being the considerate baby that he is, decided he could make it until 7:30am. What a sweetie! Yes folks, I have a breastfed baby who sleeps 11 hours through the night! And we have never had to experience the excruciating, heart wrenching, "cry-it-out" scenario.

Don't get me wrong. We have had the occasional "I feel like playing/nursing/babbling in the middle of the night" case. This generally happens during a play-date with our new teeth or a growth spurt. Ok, back to my point.

Since Monday, "early week" I need not remind you, Wook has woken up 5 hours into the night wailing to no avail. I assumed teeth. We did the usual Tylenol, Hurricane Gel (diamonds in a bottle) but nothing worked other than nursing him endlessly, until he wore himself to sleepiness. Then comes the "back in your crib tango". Fighting not to step just the wrong way, twitch, heaven forbid sneeze or bump the crib. Monday night my frustration took me so far that I whispered over my child's crib to Darling Husband "I could choke you" when he turned the monitor on while Wook was stirring, causing us to begin the whole thing again. Horrible I know, seeing that he (darling husband) was up WITH me! I love him.

Tuesday same scenario, but Darling Husband wore his clunky old man slippers across kitchen floor sending Wook back into a teething rage. I didn't mention anything about doing bodily harm this time.

Wednesday night, Wook went down easily as usual, but woke again with teething troubles. We spent an hour and a half just coaxing him back into dreamland after nurs-apaloosa. I then proceeded to have a meltdown about how I wasn't any good at being a mother and how I had now clue what I was doing. Boo-hoo-hoo. DH sleepily reassured me that Wook was lucky to have me and that I was a wonderful mother and that it was just a phase. Now who can threaten to choke a man who says things like that at 2 in the morning. We hugged and I selfishly thought about the sleep we got before Wook came along. Crazily, I would continue these sleepless nights forever to have my baby look at me the way he does.

I am exhausted. DH was dizzy yesterday. My neck hurts and I ache down my arms. I have a headache and miss my sleep. We are spoiled and have started to wonder if the Tooth Fairy has it out for us. Yawn-Yawn.

The Giant Rubber Ducky

I am in love with this Munchkin product "The Duck Tub".
This is what it looks like out of the box:


It has taken the stress out of bath time for us. We knew that Wooks had outgrown the newborn tub, when the two of us bathing him were soaked every night and more water ended up on the floor than in the tub. But we were not quite ready to move Wooks into the big tub all by himself. The Duck Tub keeps him from banging his head on the sides of the big tub and if by chance he falls backwards, the ducks tail (for lack of a better word) catches the fall. It makes "quacking" sounds and has a temperature detector (which spells HOT when the water is slightly above tepid) Sans the temp. detector, this product gets the double thumbs up from all of us.

Here is our master bath. This is another part of our home that I love. The cabinetry is white and it just makes the entire room look clean and crisp. I love the his and hers sink nook! My DH went a little overboard with the WD40 so the doors in the bathroom will not stay open. I used a few large shells as door stops.

Tour of My Home

I have been wanting to share our space for a while now. We live in a small, what some might call "starter home". When we first moved in, 3 1/2 years ago, I thought of this house as just that. I really only looked at it as a place we would be for a couple of years. Once I found out I was pregnant with our first child, I started to look at this house as our home. A place where memories would be made. It was then that I really started working on making it as welcoming and functional as possible. I am really proud of how we have utilized the space we do have for storage and organization. This is God's provision for us and we are thankful for it, especially in times like these.

We usually enter our home from the garage which leads into our laundry "closet":

I know it doesn't look organized...but it is. It was one of my nesting projects when I was pregnant.

This is the view of the kitchen when you come through the laundry room:



Here are some other views of the kitchen. One of the things I absolutely love about it is the whte cabinets against the yellow walls. Our kitchen and living area is so open, and we have so many windows that we have tons of natural lighting! This is the only painted room in the house. I started with it and was so tired of painting!!!!!!!!







I just noticed the 3 hole punch on the table. I have been working on my HMG. Now we move from the kitchenette area into the living room:


Here is the couch (part of our $100 living room set). We desperately need new couches but haven't found any we like yet.

Here is the love seat that matches the couch :) These were $75 at a church yard sale. We bought them when we got married and had no furniture. I found the end tables at a yard sale for $5 and painted them. I know the couches are not so easy on the eyes but hey you work with what you have! I love how open the living area of the house is.



Here is Wookie's corner. Most of his toys are kept here. He loves hanging in the play yard while I get a shower or do the dishes.


Our entertainment center was $20 (that's what the guy charged to deliver it). It provides GREAT storage and it doesn't seem like it would be very easy to climb/pull over on yourself. Good news for Wooks.
From the living area you can enter right into the dining room. We only use it now for projects, entertaining company, and it is really our drop off area. I am constantly moving things off of this table! As you can see, the extra chair is used for diaper bag storage. :)

This is our front door entranceway. I really want to get a bench and hooks to create a mini-mud room, even though we don't enter and exist here, it could be better used and decorated.


From the entryway, you will find our master suite. This is the view from the entryway. The cat is always in that chair.

Our bed is another one of my favorites! It is a California King! You may find yourself asking "Is that a coffee table in their bedroom?" Why yes it is. These tables were originally in the living area but were very hard on the Wooks head so we moved them in here for now.

This piano was given to us when DH was taking lessons. It needs some exterior work but it plays beautifully.
Our modest bedroom entertainment center:
My dresser and antique mirror. This is the first time in a long time it hasn't been covered with clothes.
I plan on adding pictures of the Wook's room and our home office the next time I get a chance to work on this. I hope you enjoyed Part One of the tour of my home!

Things I am Thankful For...

So today I thought of 3 biggies I want to share:

1. My Mom! Happy Birthday!!!!!!! I love you for the mother and friend you have always been. I am so proud of all that you have overcome this year. If I can be 1/2 the mother you are, then Micah will have it made.

2. My Daddy! Happy Veteran's Day! Thank you for the time you spent serving our country and keeping us save. I pray that God will keep our soldiers safe and protect them as they are protecting us.

3. Time with my Grandparents. I had so much fun at the Hawkinsville Steakhouse. I will always cherish the memories I have of time spent with them over the years. Playing in Granny's kitchen, wearing Granddaddy's overalls and riding the tractor. Even pulling that itchy corn! Playing with my Grandmama's sewing machine and swinging with Buster. My Buddy.

Found a Peanut!

If you have a weak stomach, I urge you to move along to the next blog...
So you remember the childhood tune "Found a peanut, found a peanut, found a peanut last night.." Well I found a peanut this afternoon! Mom sat in the car with Wookie while I ran into Target. (I loved it, since I never get to shop alone anymore.) When I returned to the car to load the bags I opened the passenger side door. I happened to look down and saw what I thought was a peanut shell in the floor. I picked it up and thought "Hmm, that's strange. I have vacuumed out the van several times since we went to the mountains and ate our weight in boiled peanuts." Oh wait, as I look closer, its not a peanut at all....its a TERD!!!! So I rapidly find the hand sanitizer and ask my mom how his poo landed in the floor. She informs me that she changed him and he actually had two peanuts but one must have "gotten away from me". I didn't know "peanuts" were so elusive.

I'm So Excited

The Wookster slept all the way through church this morning!!! This was the first time in months that I have actually been able to pay attention to the sermon!!! Woo Hoo

I'm So Excited

The Wookster slept all the way through church this morning!!! This was the first time in months that I have actually been able to pay attention to the sermon!!! Woo Hoo

Things I am Thankful For...October 14th!

Ok, so after reading one of Penny Pinching Diva's posts... I decided to follow suit and jot down 5 things I am thankful for each week.

1. My wonderful, loving, Godly husband. He does so many little things to help me and never mentions it. He supports me even as scattered brained as I am.

2. "The Wook" sitting up all by himself. I love looking at his eyes when he discovers new things from a new view of his little world. I can't wait to experience things with him everyday.

3. Being able to stay home with "The Wookster".

4. Whips Yogurt! I know this one sounds silly, but little things make me happy!

5. My parents and the wonderful grandparents they have become!

Wook's 1st "What is that in your mouth?"

So I went to my MOPS meeting this morning where the "wook" screamed his head of the entire time along with all the other babies, so he had to stay with me. We stood in the kitchen of the church for an excruciatingly long time while I held him on my hip, where he eventually fell asleep. It was so hot and I was watching them cook something that required way too many tools for my taste so I knew I wasn't going to whip that one up. It was a Pampered Chef thing...pampered I am not!

So anyways we get home and I notice that I left my raffle ticket on the coffee table. Well "wook" is not walking yet so no biggy. Then a few minutes later I notice that he is eating something, red. It is that stupid ticket. The fan strategically blew it off the table and across the room into his lap! I just experienced my first "what is that in your mouth?" panic. I found all the pieces at least. I thought it was a lucky one since I won free monogramming with it!

Free the Poop

This morning, after our pears and "raspberries" feast...I noticed the large dinner plate sized stain on the wook's jammies. Amazingly his diaper was absolutely clean! All of the poop freed itself right out of the "secret hatch"! How do babies do it? Hubby would have saved that diaper!

You Know You Have It Made When:

You gack up your cereal and pears from hours ago and someone immediately cleans it up so you don't have to roll around in it.

You can pass gas as loud as your Daddy and people laugh at you....only later realizing that you didn't just pass gas. Then someone immediately cleans you up, cause of course you would not want to roll around on the floor in all your cuteness and your poo!

Looking out the window in your jumpy thing excites you every day! Even though you only get a peek outside when you really get your chubby legs going!

You can beat both cats in a stare down contest! Retreat!!

Blowing your pears and cereal all over mommy does not get you in trouble...cause she hasn't realized yet that you know exactly what you are doing!

You have to merely groan from boredom and poke out your little lip to get someone to move you onto your next form of 10 minute entertainment.

5 Month Birthday

So the "wook" (m) celebrated his big 5 mo. b-day yesterday! He was unaware and there was no cake or balloons but for a moment I paused and remembered that five months ago (it seems like yesterday) he was swimming around in my belly giving me nightly bouts of indigestion. We've come a long way baby!

The Cat Napper 2

I have figured it out. M has learned the art of sleeping for only 30 minutes from our cats! Yes! that's it. They probably told him..."hey M. want to make mommy crazy? pick a spot, sleep there briefly and decide upon another, move there, nap, move again, nap, move again." In their case that would include but not limit them to: kitty gym, love seat, wing back chair in bedroom, bed, windowsill, glider, kitty gym, repeat! They are not good influences.

The Cat Napper

Ok...so why is it that M will nap half way to Mississippi, but only 30 min. in the bed? Seriously, you put the wook in the car and he is napping through 2 meals! But lay him down at home...is this a good excuse for my frequent visits to Target? The other Jess is coming over with her crew for a swim, and who wants to hang with a fuss-pot? The Cat Napper has cut this one short! MEOW!!!!

A little chunk of me...

Why do I feel like a little chunk of me is missing? School started back today and I felt really strange not returning to work. I want to stay home with the "wookie" but there is a little part of me that doesn't quite get this new way I am needed. I mean you have to be honest...no mom can say that when she had her first child she didn't lose a little bit of who she was before. Right? I swear I am not going to lose touch with my teacher friends. I mean I have gained so much and found a new purpose, but a little chunk of me is...well....missing.