Blog Off...Christmas Cards!

Love this one...

Well, I would be burned at the stake by my family if I didn't send out cards, so in that case, I have no choice but to send them! ;) ha! I do enjoy sending them, and I LOVE getting them, but I really love and appreciate the ones that have some thought put into them or that have a personal note in them.

I try really hard to make ours a creative reflection of our year and crazy life. I usually put lots of thought into the cards, pick the best (and often funniest/most entertaining) pictures. This year was MAYHEM (card printing got delayed, one batch had a grammatical error, ran out of the original cards I had made and had to make some last minute ones, etc...like I said, MAYHEM! ha!), and I feel as though I did not deliver to my legion of friends and family that usually expect a great card form us, but I hope they will forgive me this year. I did make sure the cards contained darling pictures of my heathens, so hopefully that will hold everyone over until next year....as I already have an AWESOME (top secret) idea for our cards! ha!

Funny story...we were opening the cards we received one day, and Liv got so excited, clapped her little hands together and said, 'ohhhhhh, I hope there's money in there!' hahaha! She was used to Abby's birthday cards coming in the mail with money it them. It was hysterical!

Abigail Jenette is SIX!

I can not believe Abby is 6! That just sounds so grown up and un-baby like! :( I don't like it. at. all! The door decorating is a tradition. Everyone gets that on their birthday (except me, but I'm not bitter! nope, not bitter at all! ha! ;)

Stewart the Elf left her a little birthday note, too.

Opening her gift from Stewart!
Her birthday fell on a Saturday (just like when she was born on 12/3/05), so we were able to par-tay on her actual birthday this year! It was a BARBIE extravaganza! Paige and Miss Kayla stopped by. They both cheer on the squad I coach, and Miss Kayla is their babysitter...I also love her so much, I made her my assistant coach for my classes at the gym! :) She's a great, great kid, and we will miss her sooooo much when she goes away to college next year.
And, we almost had a real emergency right before the party started! I was blow drying my hair, the blow dryer flew out of my hand and right into....the toilet! AAAAHHHH! Smoke and flames immediately started rolling, so I closed my eyes and yanked it from the wall (thankfully, not getting shocked!) Sorry, blow dryer...we had a good run, but I guess it was your time to go! ha!
Anyways, crisis averted...it was PARTY TIME! First up, MANICURES!! :) Thanks goodness we had some extra adults to pitch in and help!
Pizza and snacks! :)
And...I specifically said NO presents! You see how well everyone listens to me! ha! Next year, it's back to charity donations in lieu of gifts. I am usually on the ball and we pick a charity to support (something kid friendly that they can understand and participate) and we ask people to donate in lieu of gifts. This year we threw the party together very last minute because I thought we were going to be at my parents that weekend, but we had a change of plans and with Thanksgiving being the weekend before, we just didn't get it done in time. Like I said, next year it's back to no gifts. We haven't done gifts since Abby's first birthday and this is why!! ha!
JUST DANCE on the Wii!! Oh my goodness...these girls were hysterical!
Dress-up....
More dress-up and silly girls...we were looking through these pictures after the party and when we got to this one, everyone said, 'oh my goodness...she looks JUST like you in that one, making that face!' haha!
Total chaos...and, I love Abby's face in this one as she pulls her BFF, Ryann, around the house! haha! They act like teenage boys!
Cookie time (you know my girl won't have cake or ice cream...cookie is as crazy as she will get with sweets! ha!)
Pinata!!
She did get some awesome gifts, and it was so sweet of everyone to think of her. And, she was very grateful...I was proud of her! This hat and scarf was my favorite! Josie, the little girl beside her with dark hair, made this with her Mom! MADE IT! It's adorable, and we get 10 comments on it every day...or more! I love it!

With all of her sweet little friends! :)
We had so much fun, they were all so sweet and polite. We really couldn't ask for a better group of girls. I love that she will grow up with these girls. And, I know I already said it, but I really can't believe she is six. Seems like she was just born! What an amazing six years it has been. She brings so much love and joy to so many people. There is never a dull moment with Abby around, and I had no idea how much life was about to change when she came into our lives that Saturday in December back in 2005. She came into the world in a dramatic fashion, and she hasn't slowed down since. I always tease her when she's being naughty and sassy and say that I hope she has a little girl JUST like her ;)...and, I do hope that, because I hope she gets to experience how amazing it is to be a Mommy to someone as wonderful as she is. Happy Birthday, to my sweet, sassy, smart, dramatic, creative, beautiful, thoughtful, loving girl! :)

I miss my husband...

And, that pretty much sums it up! We started dating in July 2003 and until this deployment, the longest we spent apart since we started dating was 10 days. I realize that a 120 day deployment is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but we just miss him a lot. He's my best friend and we are a good team...he's all the good things I am not, and vice versa. The girls miss him a lot, too. We've had a meltdown or 2 as a result, usually after failed attempts at Skyping! :( This being Christmas week, I know I will miss him even more than usual (Who will help me think of funny names to put on all the gift tags! ha!). He is VERY hands on/very involved/very close to the girls, he helps in all areas of home and the girls. I have heard so many women talk about how their husband doesn't do this or that at home or with their kids, and I can't even imagine. He and the girls have special things that they do together every day. They miss that a lot, too. We are so lucky to have him and we just miss him.

He was able to send us a few pictures this week! That's his Christmas Card above! haha!

And, the girls LOVE this one of him with this little Santa! :) (By the way, he told me I could share these photos. I know we have lots of family worried about him and missing him. So, as you can see, he's doing good! :)
We have had one heck of a time lately. The girls and I were in a car accident last Saturday. It was the single scariest moment of my life (It bumped Abby's birth, in which we both had a close call with death, to 2nd!...). I was heading into work to do a couple of make-up lessons, I went to park in front of my work. I pulled across the street to pull up in front of the building , and a truck hit us on Liv's side, just behind her door. The air bags deployed on her and that whole side of the car. Like I said, scared me so bad. When I realized everyone was okay, I just couldn't help the emotions. I cried for like 2 hours. All through the police coming, all through getting us home, etc. I just couldn't stop the 'what ifs' from running through my mind. I mean, if the hit would have been six inches over, it would have hit square into Liv! And, the child did not have a scratch on her, didn't even make a peep during the accident. It was a miracle. I am certain we have guardian angels watching over us. (Maybe Liv isn't such a little devil after all...ha! ;) Anyways, the guy that hit us was so nice, the cop was so nice, no tickets were issued, we were all just so glad everyone was okay. The cop even said there are accidents there all the time because the parallel parking along the street causes so many blind spots, but I just felt SO bad. And, I didn't have the slightest of ideas of where to begin with sorting through insurance issues, who to call, what to do...and the guy and the cop were both so sweet and helpful. Talk about feeling TOTALLY alone. :( And, of course we can't just get in a wreck...the guy was test driving the truck he was driving! REALLY!? Only us, right!? ha! But, like I said, everyone is okay but now we are dealing with what will happen to the car. It's been over a week and we still don't know if it will be totaled or repaired, I'm driving Scott's old car that he drives back and forth to work, we have a ton of traveling coming up for Christmas...BUT, we will make do. We have the truck, too, if we need it.

Long story short, I haven't exactly been in the Christmas 'spirit' but I am getting there. This week should help...between Christmas programs, celebrations/parties, goodies to bake, finished up my shopping, etc. I know we will have a wonderful Christmas. And...one lovely gesture refreshed my Christmas spirit today...my sweet cousin and her 4 (soon to be FIVE!! and, I think my house is crazy-ha!) beautiful daughters sent us a package of Shari's Berries chocolate covered strawberries. I am just floored and so grateful that someone thought of us, and send us a thoughtful treat with a sweet note...totally unsuspecting. It was the sweetest thing, brought tears to my eyes. I told Scott it truly made my Holiday season! And, they are soooooo GOOD! So, I feel like I need to pay it forward, and I fully intend to! :)

Thanks, Bobbie, Kelly, Taylor, Grace, Lilly and Emmy Kate!
I am really hoping to get the blog caught up this week. Scott is wanting to see pictures of Abby's birthday party, and we have figured out that the blog might be the easiest way to get bulk amounts of photos to him. Hope everyone is having a super weekend! :)

My MOST favorite holiday!

THANKSGIVING!! I love, love, love Thanksgiving. Don't get me wrong, Christmas is wonderful, and I love the reason why we celebrate Christmas, etc. but, Thanksgiving is my favorite. No silly rituals, no presents, the kids don't expect anything, everyone is together just to simply be together...no bells and whistles...just a reason to be extra grateful for all of the people and things you have been blessed with. And, it's the one holiday when all of us go home...for the whole week. My sister, her family, my brother, his family, Deana and the kids...all of us together and lots of fun! It's always crazy, and I LOVE it! Look above at who got the wish bone this year! Yours truly! ;)

Me and my big sister! :)
Me and my bro and sis! :)
With Mom...

Mom, Dad and their Grand kiddos! Some of you might not know this, but my parents were divorced for most of my life (18 years). They divorced when I was 5 and....got back together shortly before Scott and I got married! I know...I can hear Hallmark calling for movie rights now! haha! So, to have pictures like this are something I didn't anticipate while growing up when I would think about having kids of my own. :)
All of us...minus Scott! :( We all got to Skype with him that morning, though. It was fun. We've only been able to Skype 3 times since he left! :(
Britt Brat and Abby Brat! ha! :)
The girls playing with the play house Uncle Kenny finished for them. I LOVE it!
'Welcome to Our Home!' :)
Michael Jackson Experience on the Wii. This was a riot. Here's Abby and my nephew, Sammy!
And, the girls! We have Just Dance on the Wii, so now they have a new interest in that, too, so it's been fun. (I am ALWAYS down for some Just Dance on the Wii!)
And, I LOVE this one! Look at them...making the same EXACT facial expression! haha! And, they both have the moves, too! :) Go, girls!
The week ended way too fast. We took all the teenage cousins out with us to shop on Black Friday! That was an experience! ha! We had a blast, though. And, I am already counting the days until next Thanksgiving! :)

Weekend in Dixon

The weekend before Scott left, we went to Dixon to spend time with his family, and so that he could hunt! His parents wanted pictures for their Christmas cards, so we put the kids to work...ha! Will didn't want to sit for the pictures so we grabbed the toy catalog and it worked great and looked super cute, too! :) Aren't they precious!
We also had a goal of getting a group photo, and my in-laws wanted us in UK attire (am I a good daughter in law or what!? ha!) Anyways, to get the pics we had to set up a ladder, and use the self timer. It's a miracle we got any pictures at all! ha!
I wanted a picture for us to use on our Christmas cards, and we were out of time to get any professionally done, so we did the best we could! :) (Leslie...we will be booking with you as soon as you are off of maternity leave this spring/summer! :)
Yeah, this was a good idea in theory! haha! Abby and I LOVED it...Scott, not so much! haha!
Scott and his girls! :)
Me and my girls!
The little monsters! Liv LOVES 'holding' Baby Will! He is almost bigger than her, but that doesn't matter....she takes holding him VERY seriously!
Awwww....Will loves his cousins! :)
Just goofing with Daddy!
We had a going away lunch for Scott that Sunday. It was so much fun. It was pretty much an early Thanksgiving for us. Most of Scott's family was able to make it. Love these of all the kids running and playing...they were playing freeze tag and Uncle Robert had them all frozen! ha!
Attempting a group shot....we were missing a few kiddos! :( We'll try again at Easter! :)
Abby and Lyla! These 2 are 2 peas in a pod! :)
And, me and my Mommy! This picture was actually a joke. Mom and I are both on 'diets.' Not really diets, but working to lose some weight/tone up. We were joking and discussing how much we had both lost and how our reward when we meet our goal should be a boob job! (if you know us, this conversation is not at all shocking...ha!) Anyways, this was going to be our BEFORE boob job photo, but it turned out to be a really good pic of us!

We had a wonderful weekend. It was the perfect send off for Scott. We are so blessed with so many people that love us! :)

If I were a single parent, I would be an alcoholic...

Not really, but WOW! I have a new respect for people that go it alone. It's Friday...and, other than the time we are asleep (which isn't much around here), I haven't spent more than a couple hours away from the girls in almost three weeks, and the overwhelming majority of that time has been just me and the girls. Tonight after work (which they also go with me to work most of the time-ha), we went to get some dinner. The waiter asked if I would like a margarita. I just laughed and told him there isn't a margarita in this world big enough! :) Over all, things are awesome, we are great...but man, some days are long. ha! I had a feeling that it wouldn't hit me until about this time, and I was right. Last night Scott was going to Skype with us @ 5:45pm. We have only been able to Skype with him once, so we were VERY excited. I had to work until 5, so by the time I got done chatting with parents after class and got the girls rounded up, we were hauling a$$ to get home in time. We rush home, turn on the computer and wait...and wait...and then realize it isn't happening! He ended up emailing about an hour later, telling me he couldn't get wi-fi where he was at the time. *sigh* We figured that much, but by then, for the first time since he left, I was sad and frustrated. And, so were the girls. And, this resulted in a rough evening and even rougher bedtime. I hate nights like that. I hate when things are so frustrating, that by the time I get Liv back in her bed for the 20th time, I'm mad. I don't want to be mad, but SHEESH! So, today I decided we would start fresh. Abby had her birthday celebration at school and she was excited to take the goody bags we stuffed for all TWENTY SIX kids, and they make a big deal of birthdays, so we had a good morning. Liv and I had fun shopping and running errands all day, and then we had to go get Abby at school...and, when we picked her up she was tired and hungry and grumpy and ready to fight with her sister...those days are the PITS!! I had plenty of snacks but I had to work again, so we were off to the gym. When I got off of work, I decided we would go to dinner...FAIL! They were pretty naughty the whole time, didn't eat and 20min. after we got home, they were asking for food...SERIOUSLY!? So, now we are all chilling out and I'm preparing myself for bedtime. Once Abby goes to bed, I have party prep to do. Tomorrow is her Barbie party. Family and friends will be here to celebreate. (Thankfully, Mom and Dad are going to try to get here a couple of hours before the party, so I can do things like...shower! ha!) Anyways, I have a long night ahead of me, so I am going to try to get the blog updated while I am up doing other things. Be sure to keep scrolling down because I have already been working on it! :)

Alright, pity party over...hahaha!

Budding Photographers...

With 2 little girls that think they are adults and an interest in anything they shouldn't have...I often find some interesting photos on my cameras....



Liv NEVER turns the camera the right way! ha!
So, I taught her how to do a self portrait!
Silly girls...they LOVE the cameras. I have been wanting to get Abby a digital camera since her birthday last year, but Scott is saying no because he thinks it will be torn up in no time. I, however, think it would be fine! :) Now that he is 9,000 miles away, I might just win this battle! hahaha!