Happy New Year's Eve

Closing out 2015 at my brother's house with one last picture. Cheers y'all!!

A Week of Leisure

Ever since my babies came home Sunday, there has been lots of this going on. I would love to tell you the 16 year still snuggles with me but I can't. Sniff, sniff...

This week has been very low key and I am loving it. The kids and I went out Monday to have a late lunch and run a couple errands. I snapped this at lunch. When did he grow up? Seriously, it goes so fast yall!  

Before heading back home, we took the White Stallion to the car wash because honestly, he was pretty dirty. My sweet, sweet son got out to scrub the car before we went through. Bella and I waited in the car while he scrubbed. Love him!! 

Monday evening we went to my BFF's house so we could have our Christmas and catch up. We hadn't seen each other since our Canton trip. A good time was had. Let me mention that a cold front had blown through which was very welcomed. It's been too warm for me this time of year. The kids hung out in the hot tub...

Chris was even dared to jump in the pool and totally did it. I should have videoed it but my phone was inside and he was quick! 

I have to show off my blanket scarf Marilee gave me. I absolutely love it. Notice my initial on it...

I even wore it the next day when Christopher and I went to Bass Pro Shops. We were texting each other pictures of us wearing our gifts so I sent this one to her.  Let me just say this was the only way I could handle it because it was too hot up around my neck. If I had been out in the cold, no problem but yesterday was not that day. I felt like a continuous hot flash so I tied it the way you see in the picture below....

Today we are heading to daddy and Lena's to celebrate Christmas with my kids since they weren't with us Christmas Eve. We are heading over early to play games and I can't wait. 

I am really enjoying my time off this week. No rushing around, sleeping in, pajamas, snuggles, movies, games, cards, family with lots and lots of love. Pretty perfect in my book. Yall have a good one!

From Our House to Yours...

I hope y'all have a very Merry Christmas filled with lots of 

love, fun and family!!

Love & hugs, Missy

Christmas Goodies

I am happy to report that I am officially on vacation until January 4th!!  They let us go early today (another plus) so I headed to town to grab a few more things I needed. While I was in Target I got a phone call from my nephew Brandon asking if I was home. He, Makenna and two other 4-H kids were ringing the bell at Kroger and they needed a drink. Can't blame them at all since its 82 degrees on December 23rd. What kind of ridiculousness is that? Anyway, I finished up my shopping and headed to Sonic to get the babies a cool drink. Love doing little things like that when I can. They were very grateful. Got home and decided to do a little baking...

Sugared pecans, pecan balls or snowballs and fire crackers. We shall see tomorrow if any of it is edible. The fire crackers I did a little different. Normally I just use regular saltines but today I decided on Cheez-its, oyster crackers and mini club crackers. I'm letting those sit overnight before I try them. 

Sort of random side note:  I love the knife in this picture. Love! My finger on my right hand not so much but I love it. If you have not purchased a Pioneer Woman knife, you need to. Your kitchen life will be so much better. 😁

I'm beat from shopping and then baking so this gal is going to polish her nails for tomorrow (we're having Christmas at Daddy's) and hitting the hay to get some shut eye. Yall have a good one. 

Yippee

As luck would have it, I will have my babies for one more night.  Bella was super excited about that. They were supposed to head to their dad's this afternoon before I got home from work but he is not feeling well and still has some last minute gifts to get, wrapping and grocery shopping so I offered to keep the kids one more night.  Lucky me!  I was going to head out after work to grab my last few things but it can wait.  Because I hadn't planned on them or me being home this evening I didn't plan dinner so we'll eat out tonight.  Wonder what they'll pick?

My sister texted me yesterday from Walmart with the following message...

"When you are in Walmart and you turn to go down the Christmas candy aisle and its all Valentine candy!!  

Needless to say I wasn't happy, more so because I have not picked up my Christmas candy yet but dadgum people, can we slow things down a bit?  Its ridiculous!  Did nothing but add to my already poor attitude.

And speaking of attitude, I have a bad one.  I mean downright ugly attitude.  Its more work related but lets be honest, if I have a bad attitude at work, its going to rub off elsewhere.  I'm good about leaving everything here once I go home but some days the attitude follows and its just not pretty.  So my goal is to get it all out these next couple of days and come back next year with an attitude adjustment.  You would think that after all these years, I would know how to handle the people who feel they are entitled and whine when they don't get their way or are not included.  These are grown ass people we are talking about who should know better.  My tolerance is gone for these people and I have got to figure out how to deal with them because I don't like my attitude. I don't like me.  I can't change their attitude but I can change mine.  I have to.  For me and for my children.  Any words of encouragement are gladly accepted.

That leads me to my word for 2016...Faith.  I need to return to my faith and have more faith in all aspects of my life.  I think it is a fitting word choice given my new attitude I'm going to come in with next year.

Ok, I'm off to get some work done and check my lists for the 87th time.  :)

Y'all have a good one!

Short Week Ahead

I'm working this week through Wednesday and then our offices are closed Thursday and Friday for Christmas but this gal won't be back until next year!  Hallelujah!!  I'm so ready for my time off. I will get a few days to myself but that also means I won't have my babies for Christmas this year, but I will be okay.  I got this.  They will be back on the 27th and I'm happy I will be off for the second leg of their Christmas break.

Have y'all seen the new laser lights this year?  Or as my dad calls them, lazy lights.  haha!  He and Lena have some at their house.  Its one little box you plug in and it projects red and green "lights" onto your house.  Its really pretty cool looking.  I told Daddy it made his house look like the Griswald's!  My brother, sister and I had some fun with them last week at family dinner.  We may get older but the kids in us always come out for fun.  That's me and sister below....

Hank has just been moving around this year, not up to too much really. Slacker.  Bella still gets a kick out of finding him every day though.

This child has had more fun playing in this box than anything else.  Forget toys, I'm going to get her boxes for Christmas.

And here we are about to head out to look at Christmas lights in our pajamas.  I posted on FB that I started this tradition with Christopher when he was a little one and I've continued it with Bella.  I'll keep doing it until I have to go by myself.  I have a string of lights out on my tree which disappoints me as this tree is only 3 years old.  Hopefully we can get them working again.

Not really much else to report.  The kids leave for their dad's tomorrow and then back the 27th. Oh yes, I did get an early Christmas gift yesterday....Bella has lice.  So NOT what I asked Santa for.  Yesterday evening was spent decontaminating the house and treating her hair.  It wasn't bad at all but I'm still going to have her father treat her again while she's with him.  Now that your heads are itching I'll bid you farewell.  You're welcome.  Y'all have a good one!  

A Sweet Surprise

Today we had our employee awards luncheon at work. In the past, we've always had the luncheon in the summer but things have been so busy that time got away from us.  I pull the luncheon together every year so I left early to get things set up and didn't return until almost 2:00 this afternoon.  When I walked back into my office I had a box sitting on my desk.  I opened it to find this note...

And this ornament.  Isn't it beautiful?

Its no secret to anyone around here that I've had a bad attitude. I try really hard to not let it show but some days I'm either full of piss and vinegar or in tears.  I've vowed to get it all out and come back fresh with a better attitude in 2016.  Until then, I've asked for patience and lots of prayers. This sweet gesture made my day and I had to share it with y'all.

Have a good evening y'all! 

Hank's Shenanigans

Tis the season for life to become extra crazy!

Hank has been all over the place this year...nothing too crazy but silly enough to keep Bella laughing.  Every morning this child wakes up wanting to know where Hank is.  Some days I tell her I can't find him and others (when its obvious) I tell her she just has to see for herself.  

Hanging out on what I call my kitchen Christmas tree....

Sprinkles Angel

Hiding in the holly.  He liked this so much that he stayed there for two days!  

He finally moved on to stand tall with my nutcrackers.  

The nutcracker Hank is next to is our newest edition. 

He really likes hanging out this year....

Jousting with Elsa...

This fish was a gift to Chris from Scott when we were dating.  

Hank liked it so much he decided to go for a ride.

The next day Hank found himself in our Christmas card holder but I forgot to get a picture of him there.  He also liked it so much that he stayed there for two days.  

Friday, the kids and I went to Hobby Lobby to see if we could find something to go with a gift I had already ordered for my sister back in July.  I was shocked to see that most of the Christmas was already gone.  Christopher ended up finding something else for his Godmother so I will put back the other thing for her birthday.  We were also on the hunt for a small Christmas tree for Christopher. We have talked about doing a fishing themed tree for a while and he finally decided to do it.  Hobby Lobby had one tree we liked but it was still pricey for the size.  After filling our bellies at Fuddruckers, we ventured over to Target where we found this beauty for $21!  

  

That picture wasn't very good so I took one with the flash on.  Chris did pick up a couple ornaments at Hobby Lobby and then added some fishing lures he had at the house.  We'll add to it as we come across some ornaments. Needs more lights for my taste but its super cute.

Sunday we once again found Hank hanging out, this time in the kitchen window.  Pardon the dishes in the sink.  I hadn't cleaned up yet when I took these.  I have to take the pictures when I think about it otherwise I will forget.

Yesterday he joined the elf in our tree :) 

And this morning I walked in my kitchen to find my knives sitting on the counter.  What the heck?  So I opened the kitchen drawer to find this....that crazy elf!

So there you have it....Hank's shenanigans through today.  

Almost forgot, last week Bella rang the bell at Kroger with my dad after she got out of school.  Aren't they cute?

and I have to show you my Berry Naughty nail polish....

I've added sparkle this week for fun (insert big smile)...

I am just about done with my shopping.  I have a few stocking stuffers to go and one more gift to pick up but that is a simple gift card and this gal is done!  The kids will be with their dad next week but I'll be working so that won't be too bad.  I'll be on vacation when they come back home so I'll get in lots of extra time with them. This weekend Bella and I will venture out for our annual Christmas light tour in our pajamas.  I'm hoping to convince Christopher to go with us since he hasn't been with me since he was a little boy.  Sniff, sniff.  We'll also be making some gingerbread cookies (i hope).   Things have been super stressful at work so I want to do as little as possible when I'm home.  Momma duties don't always allow it but it hasn't been bad at home.  Just need to get through this week and next at work, take my vacation time and come back next year with a better attitude.  

Hope ya'll are having a super day!

Hank is Back!

Hank the Elf made his debut in the kitchen this morning and let me tell you, Bella was one excited little girl.  I was worried she might think he wasn't cool this year but when she read his note (with my help), a huge smile spread across her face which in turn made me smile.

Isn't he cute?  As we were walking out the door this morning, Bella hollered back "Bye Hank!"

I need to stick with this because honestly I have fun with it and Bella loves to see what kind of mess Hank gets into each day. And if I'm being honest, if he helps her not be such a toot, I'm all about it.  

I did get Christmas up over the Thanksgiving break so it now looks like Christmas exploded in my house.  This is 3 boxes in and 3 more to go...

Its all up but I'm still moving stuff around.  I do that every year.  Same with the tree.  I'll get to looking at it while I'm watching a movie and see a hole or not like the way something is angled so I'll move it.  Always "fixin".  I'll try to take pictures and share them with you.  

Other than that, we are all trying to get back into the routine this week.  The kids loved being off but by Sunday Bella was anxious to go back to school  Chris, not so much.  I showed Bella on the calendar that she has 3 more weeks until she's off for Christmas vacation. That sure pumped her up because I know by the end of this week she will be complaining about going to school.  Mommy will have a nice little vacation at the end of the year as well. 

That's it for now, y'all have a good one!

Thankful & Blessed

That is me today.  No complaining, just prayers of thanks for all my blessings, big and small.

I hope you all have a truly blessed Thanksgiving.  Thank you for coming back to read my little blog.

Happy Birthday M

Happy Birthday today to one of my best friends, Marilee.  Like all my besties (its a small group), she has been there through the good, bad and ugly helping to pull me through it all.  I couldn't have made it this far without her support.  Cheers my friend!  Enjoy some of our memories, they make me smile.

Nuffin' Done

Absolutely no Christmas went up this weekend.  I was feeling icky Friday night after the kids left so I warmed up some soup, put on my comfy jammies, cozied up on the sofa with a quilt and watched tv.

I took something to help me sleep so with no kids I didn't wake up until 9:00 Saturday morning.  It was blissful.  My friend Callie and her boyfriend wanted to go to Market Days in town so we went there about noonish. She purchased a beautiful Christmas swag for her front door.  I didn't buy a single item.  Nothing really jumped out at me.  I mean a lot jumped out at me for myself but I was strictly looking for Christmas gift ideas for the kids and nothing really grabbed me.  We were there a good two hours and then went to Shady's for a late lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon visiting and hanging out.  It was a good day spent with friends.

Sunday my babies came home around lunch time. It was just cold enough and still wet outside so I didn't feel like putting Christmas up out there and I couldn't get in the mood to pull everything out for the inside.  It takes more than a day for me to decorate and with the cleaning lady coming Monday, I didn't want to have stuff strung out everywhere so we watched Christmas movies, snuggled and took naps.  Bella and I made a quick run to the grocery store because I was determined to make chili for supper since it was finally cold enough for me.  Around 4:00 we loaded up to head to the fairgrounds to pick up the items Cindy (or rather Makenna & Brandon) didn't sell at the 4-H booth at Market Days.  Makenna had a soccer game in Houston so they couldn't get back in time for the shut down. We came home and I started on the chili and let me tell you, it was so good. I love the first pot of chili for the season.  We ended the day with more Christmas movies and snuggling.

Before I leave, I must brag a bit on my Christopher.  Check out our new pallet coffee table the boy made in Ag class.....

Isn't it awesome?  I LOVE it.  The legs are cedar posts that were in a scrap pile and the top of the table is ceramic tile.  He put casters on it so its easy to move around which is good because its heavy. I have really enjoyed it.  He had it set in place and decorated when I came home Friday.  I can't wait for his next project!!

Hope y'all are having a great turkey week!

If only....

Bella:  Mommy...do you know what the bestest thing about Christmas is?
Me: What?
Bella:  We don't have to spend all our own money on things we want for Christmas because Santa brings us everything for FREE!!
Me:  Um yeah...he sure does.

Hat Day and Its Friday

Its hat day at school today and I had two monkeys ready for it this morning...

Brady came to our house this morning so I could take him to school.  Sister and Kenna had an early morning so Brady hung out for a bit with us. Poor kid.  As you know Bella is all about taking a picture for momma.  Brady was like okay but do I have to stand so close to her?  Cuties.

The kids get out of school early today.  I'm so jealous.  The monkeys were rubbing it in too...  

Brady:  Mimi...we get out at 1:30 today.  What do you get out?

Me:  5:00

Brady AND Bella:  Hahahahahahahahaha!!

Little stinkers.  I do wish I was getting off work early today as do I wish I was off the entire week next week but I'm not so I must suck it up!  We will spending Thanksgiving at daddy's.  We had family dinner the other night and he asked me if I would make dressing.  Of course I will.  We love my dressing.  I asked later if there was anything else I could bring with the dressing and he said, "my favorite pumpkin pie".  So I will make that as well. I've been perusing vegetable recipes this week so I may find one or two to make since we have a shortage of vegetables on the menu.  I saw a recipe for Bourbon Maple-Glazed Carrots that look really yummy but neither of my children would touch them.  They will both eat raw carrots but if you cook them, they will turn their noses up.  Its a texture thing.  And I love me some green bean casserole but again there's the kid thing and I found out several years back that my daddy has never really cared for it.  Craziness.  That year I did make Pioneer Woman's version of it and it was a hit.  Even daddy liked it.  Besides carrots and lettuce, Bella is not a fan of vegetables.  Chris loves green beans but put them in a casserole and he's done.  Maybe he will come around one day. He has with a lot.  Just takes time.  It did for me as well.

Well enough about Thanksgiving dinner because I'm getting hungry and my breakfast is my usual dry cereal.  Aren't you jealous?  

Y'all have a great Friday and super weekend!  I'm stagging it for part of the weekend as my babies will be off to their dad's for a bit.  I see Christmas decor in my weekend...  

Nothing Much

There is still absolutely nothing going on (exciting) lately at our house.  We had a baby shower this past weekend and I cleaned the garage out Sunday.  That about sums it up.  The cool thing about cleaning the garage out is that we did get rid of Christopher's bike, an old dresser and a old boat Christopher pulled out of the neighbor's trash a while back.  And let me tell you, it was all gone by dark thirty. A couple in a pick up truck stopped to get the bike, one neighbor took the boat and another neighbor took the dresser.  All gone to happy homes.  Woo Hoo!! 

Look! You can walk through the garage and better yet....you can get to my Rubbermaid containers filled with Christmas decorations!!  I did have Christopher set up the tree but we have not decorated it.  Saving that for the turkey holidays because it does take me a few days to transform the house. I love, love, love having a clean and organized garage.  I do wish I had a two car garage but we manage with what we have.

Since I like to do things backwards, here are few pictures from the baby shower Saturday...

Bella and Cassie...

Bella was disappointed the baby wasn't going to be there for her to hold.  Had to explain she was was still growing in Cassie's tummy.

The hostesses served drinks in wine glasses.  Bella asked for some water in a fancy glass just like everyone else.  She thought she was it let me tell you prissing around drinking from her fancy glass.  I see wine tastings in the future with my girl...

After the shower, Bella and I hit up Sonic for a drink   

Sunday evening we started on a project Bella had for school, disguise her turkey so he wouldn't get eaten on Thanksgiving.  We needed more craft supplies so we worked on her story explaining how he disguised himself and then finished up the disguise Monday evening. Her story consisted of the turkey eating lots of cookies and drinking milk to get fatter and then taking clothes from her closet to disguise himself as Santa.  Here is her finished project....

I helped her trace while she cut some of the pieces out and then we tag teamed with glue.  I think he turned out pretty cute and I promise there is a turkey underneath it all.

One other thing Bella and I have been doing is polishing our nails.  I did mine a couple weeks ago and really liked it so its become a ritual two times a week, at least for me.  Once it starts chipping, I get annoyed so I take it all off and put a new coat on.  This is my favorite color from Essie, Mink Muffs.  

We'll see how long this lasts but for now I'm really enjoying having pretty nails and its cheap.  I also am getting better at polishing, not as sloppy and nothing a q-tip and some polish remover can't fix. I'm right-handed so polishing my right hand is pretty comical. Let me tell you, it takes total concentration.  Sticking my tongue out helps too, and I may even hold my breath.  

That about sums up our life lately.  Like I said, nothing much is going on. 

Y'all have a good one!