Wake-up call

This year, hubby had to work on Christmas Day. On the fire department, they work 24 hour shifts, which means his shift was from 8 a.m. Christmas Day to 8 a.m. Dec. 26. We didn't want him to miss out on Christmas morning and Santa, so we made plans to wake the kids around 5:30 a.m. Christmas morning. That way, we could all see what Santa brought and spend a little time together before he had to leave around 6:30 a.m. We've had to do this in the past, as hubby's shift works holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Years Eve) two out of every three years. Now, when Santa comes to our house, he does not wrap the presents. He simply pulls them out of his sack and sits them under the tree -- fully assembled, batteries inserted, ready to go. The kids know that they are not allowed to come out of their rooms until their dad or myself come get them. We like to get up first, put on a pot of coffee, and have the camcorder/camera ready to go and see their expressions when they run in the living room and discover their loot. Since hubby and I like to assist Santa in assembling all the toys, we were up quite late. It was around 2:15 a.m. when we finally got to bed. I knew we had to get up early (and I have OCD) so I set my three alarm clocks (2-clock radio and 1-cell phone alarm) and had them right next to my bed. Somehow, hubby and I both slept through all three alarms. I'm not a morning person anyway, but, I guess I was so tired that I didn't even hear the alarms and turned them off in my sleep. Our daughter, Shelby, is a morning person. We call her our automatic alarm clock. Most mornings, she is the first one to wake up. She's ususally up, dressed, and already had her breakfast before I even wake up (bad mom, I know). So, Christmas morning was no exception. She woke up, but, knowing that she couldn't get up without us, she waited. And waited. Finally, around 6:05 a.m. she couldn't wait any longer. She used her cell phone to call me on my cell phone (which she knew was sitting right by my bed). "Hello", I said very sleepily (thinking who the heck is calling me at this time). "Aren't we going to get up and see what Santa brought and doesn't Dad have to go to work?", she said. OOOPS! We scrambled out of bed and got all the kiddos. I didn't even have time to get my camcorder, just a few pics on my digital camera. Hubby only had about 20-25 minutes before he had to leave for work. Santa was good to the kids. The highlights: Cameron got "Rock Band" for his XBox 360 and a new skateboard deck, Shelby got a new bike and My Simms for Nintendo DS, Connor got a guitar and a wrestling cage, and Zachary got a Nintendo DS and video chair. They were all busy playing and checking out their stuff, so I went back to bed for a quick nap. The rest of the day was spent at my in-laws. Later that night, my sister-in-laws and mother-in-law took all the kids to see the 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' movie. We missed hubby not being with us, but, all in all, we had a great day.

~K

Merry Christmas!

A few pictures from our Christmas celebrations....

Me and hubby on Christmas Eve


Brother-in-law (hubby's twin brother) and his wife


Our kiddos on Christmas Eve


Zachary posing by Grandma's Christmas tree


Shelby opening a present on Christmas Eve (Cameron hiding his face in the background because her gift was girly bras/panties)


Shelby's little tree


Merry Christmas!

~K

6 Days till Christmas!

Oh my! I just noticed my little Christmas countdown banner...and I see that there's only 6 days until Christmas. Now, I was actually already aware that there were only 6 days until Christmas, but, seeing it right there in bold print in front of my face is making me go into a little panic. I mean, there are ONLY 6 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! I still have about 6 or 7 gifts to buy (mostly gift cards so it's not a big deal) and I have not even baked one single thing yet. And, my house is quite a mess. I really need to get busy. Today is the last day of school for the kiddos and hubby will be going to Florida on business until Saturday. So, I have high hopes that I can kick myself into gear and get a lot accomplished on Thursday and Friday.

My side of the family has our Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve. Each year, we choose a different theme for our dinner (buffet style). Last year we did mexican foods. The year before was soups and sandwiches. This year we are doing breakfast/brunch. I'm looking for a good (and easy) muffin or scone recipe. Does anyone have suggestions?

~K

Pictures to share

Just a few pictures to share....


My daughter waiting for her piano recital to begin. This is her sixth year in piano. She played 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies' as her solo. She and two friends also played 'Jingle Bells' as an ensemble piece. They did a great job!




Some Christmas decorations around the house...











I love this one -- my youngest found peeking at the presents under the tree





Merry Christmas!

Spiders...ICK!

I'm back. I've been on a little unplanned blogging break. No particular reason, just stuff going on. Anyway, the other morning after getting the kids on the bus and having a cup of coffee, I went to make my bed (because you know I'm a huge stickler when it comes to making beds first thing). I pulled back the comforter and sheets, and removed the pillows, and right there where my little head usually rests, is a spider. He starts to speedily crawl away, but, I am too quick for him (or her?). On my nightstand table is a tissue (because I always have to have a tissue next to me at night, it's another one of my obsessive-compulsive things). I grab the tissue and squoosh the spider. Now, normally I'm not a spider-killer. I usually yell for hubby or one of our kids and make them be the spider-killer. But, this is serious business...a spider was in my bed. Where I was sleeping about 45 minutes prior. This makes me remember something my daughter told me a few months ago. Her school was about to start a fund-raiser (selling magazines or something?) and they had this big assembly to kick things off. The spokesperson who was doing the assembly was telling them all these weird little FYI tidbits (what this had to do with the fundraiser, I have no idea). But, it was stuff like: Which fast food restaurant is the most popular? - McDonald's....blah blah blah. You get the idea. But, then they were told that we have probably all swallowed a spider in our sleep and didn't even know it (again, what this had to do with the fundraiser is beyond me, but, I guess they think middle school age kids will get a kick out of this kind of stuff). Back to my day when I found the spider in my bed....just think, if I would've slept in, there's a good chance I would've swallowed that little spider, and never even known about it. ICK! DOUBLE ICK!

~K

'5 Random Things' tag

I have been tagged by Susan to list five random things about myself. If you haven't visited her blog, go check it out. She is so sweet and friendly and has wonderful stories to share. Now, let's see what I can come up with....

1) I HAVE to make the beds right away every morning. The rest of my house can be in total disarray, but, I can't stand to have unmade beds.

2) I'm extremely ticklish. Hubby likes to hold me down and "torture" me by tickling me. He knows I can't stand it though, so he will only do it for a minute or so. I am not responsible for my actions if I'm being tickled -- I've been known to scream, scratch, kick, bite, pull hair...

3) Speaking of pulling hair, if my hair is pulled, it makes me sneeze. And, if I have to sneeze, but can't, all I have to do is pull my hair, look at a light, or smell a pencil...weird, I know.

4) I have had three pedicures in my entire life. The first one was fine. The second one was fine. The third one, not so much. About a month later, two of my toenails fell off!!! How gross is that! On both feet, it was the third toe, they just fell completely off and there were already new nails growing. They are fine now, but, I will probably never get another pedicure. That really freaked me out. I have a thing about feet freaking me out, anyway.

5) When my first child was born, I had never even really held a newborn, much less taken care of one. It was scary at first, but, I soon found great joy in motherhood. I loved it all -- being pregnant, giving birth, breastfeeding. I feel so fortunate and blessed that it all came to me pretty naturally.

There ya go. Five random little things that you didn't know about me.

~K

*~*~Movie Giveaway Winner~*~*

Thanks to those of you who entered my drawing for the Christmas DVD giveaway. I hope you'll come back and visit again. I plan on doing the movie giveaway on a regular basis. There are so many great movies that I love and want to share with you.



I put all the names in a basket and drew a winner at random. The winning name is...

Lesha

Congratulations, Lesha. I will email you to get your mailing address. And, then I'll mail your movie and hot chocolate out right away. Be sure and come back to let us know what you think of the movie.

Thanks again, everyone.

~K

Another 'Movie Giveaway'

~*~*~Movie Giveaway~*~*

If you know me even a little, you know that I am a huge movie lover. Awhile back, I participated in the 'Bloggy Giveaway Carnival' by giving away a 'Movie Night' gift basket. It was so much fun, that I've decided to do it again. This time, the prize package will consist of one of my favorite grown-up Christmas movies and a package of Hershey's Hot Cocoa mix to enjoy while you watch the movie. The DVD is titled Joyeux Noel. Click on the link to read about it. My copy shows a rating of PG-13, however, on Amazon.com it shows a rating of R. I personally feel that it should be rated R. This is definately not something I would have my children watch, as there is some sexuality and scenes of war violence. It is a foreign film, so there are subtitles at times (I happen to love foreign films, but, I know some do not) It's a very powerful and touching story. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post telling me one of your favorite Christmas movies. I will take comments until 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, December 4th. Then I'll randomly draw and announce the winner later that day. Feel free to mention this giveaway on your blog if you would like.

DISCLAIMER: Yes, I am paranoid, but, here it is...movie is for grown-ups! Contains scenes of sexuality and war violence. Hershey's Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa mix included, do not drink if you have allergies. That's all, I think. Happy commenting!

****Ooops! I just thought of something else to add to my disclaimer. I'm sorry, but, due to postage prices, I can only offer this giveaway to those living in the USA. I'm sorry, really. And, also, I'm thinking that my DVD may not even work outside of the USA, is that right? As I'm looking back and rereading the above post, I realize that this movie doesn't sound very festive and Christmas-y. It's not. So, I will again mention that it is a serious, dramatic movie, but, a heartwarming one. I just want you to love the movie as much as I do...okay people!

~K