Like I said ...

(eta ~ a few pictures added ... bear with me ;)

No promises. And while I had hoped to be back to blogging by Monday I just wasn't ... to be honest I'm not sure I'm ready to be back now, but I'm going to do a post and we'll see what tomorrow and the next day and so on bring to my life and if at the end of the day I have the time, energy or heart, then I'll blog and if I don't, well just know that life is pretty full these days, which is good right?

I have to keep reminding myself that to stop, enjoy and then keep on with all the "stuff" to be done. It's mostly good stuff, but just lots of it and try as I may I always seem to hit this week before Christmas crunch. I think I can officially say "I'm done" with all non-grocery shopping. Thank you to Julie for allowing me to finish that up today. That's a big relief!!

So, what have we been up to the last 5 days? Let me try to remember and maybe share a few visual reminders.

Thursday night (13th)~ Ethan's PreSchool Christmas Program. Cute, sweet, funny ... it's what a mom (and grandma) live for, seeing their baby in their first program ;). I'll try to upload video and share soon ... it's very funny.

Friday (14th)~ Well Matt was supposed to have the whole day off ... instead he had the morning off, so we went to breakfast and hung out until he headed to work. Then Ethan and I had personal pan pizzas & bread sticks for dinner, watching The Grinch (the new one) and me sewing.

Saturday (15th)~ Matt was FINALLY home after working 65 hours in 6 days! He & Ethan went out and got Krispy Kreme doughnuts while I slept in ;). Later in the morning we all put together and decorated our gingerbread house. Totally fun, made my heart full. Then we just hung around the house, I think I sewed some more and maybe read some more and maybe napped ... just relaxed. Then Matt and I headed out on a mini-date ... Matt being patient while I shopped for a new sweater at Macy's (I had $20 in rewards to spend) and then dinner at Panda Express (which we can't seem to get enough of lately).

Sunday (16th)~ Church, which was so nice after missing last week ... just getting out of the house was nice! After church I went over to Becca's to photograph Owen at her request. What fun I had. It was so nice visiting with Becca and Owen is just about the cutest little baby boy. Oh my the cute pictures we got! I can't wait to share, but I'll let Becca give me the okay first ;). Then a quiet night at home with more Home Alone while I made Cinnamon Rolls to start off the week on the right note.

Is this getting boring yet? If so, just look at the pictures and skip to the bottom. This is so I can remember should I actually make a Christmas album :).

Monday (17th)~ Ran errands, grabbed a few groceries (but sadly wasn't organized enough to get all we need before the Big Day, which means another trip ... UGH!) and then came home and made Cracker Toffee. Sounds delicious doesn't it, LOL, but try it, it really is quite good, so easy and a great one to do with kids. We played games and listened to lots of Christmas music and I sewed some more ;).




Tuesday (18th)~ More candy making, this time it was Pretzel Turtles, another easy one for kids to help with. We need to make another batch of these ... so good and so fun for Ethan to help. While E was at preschool I finished 2 sewing projects (which meant I was done except for stockings ... and except for thinking of 2 more people to make for ;) and got started on a few others. Then we ran a few more errands and came home with just enough time for me to get ready for Bunko. Oh how I enjoyed my "mom time" ... it was our annual ornament exchange and due to some funny circumstances we didn't even play Bunko. Instead we ate dinner, played Outburst and then exchanged ornaments and enjoyed dessert together. It was perfect.

And finally, TODAY (19th)~ We enjoyed a playdate with Bethany & Claire this morning. During naptime I worked on a few more projects and made a master list of just all I needed to buy and get done. Then I dropped Ethan and Aunt Julie's and hit Costco, Michael's and Cost Plus. It all went so fast I had time to grab Panda (I told you, we're hooked) and met Matt at his office for a quick dinner before I headed to Awana to meet up with Ethan. And now I'm home, exhausted and ready for bed, but wanted to get this posted.

So there's the re-cap, I'll add pictures tomorrow and maybe a little post about a great advent idea I want to incorporate into our traditions next year. Oh and maybe I'll share my favorite contemporary Christmas song ... and maybe that contest ... and then again, it may be five days before you see me. Okay not really, tomorrow is a very special day in my life and I'll be posting a little tidbit on that sometime.

Until then, Happy Wednesday!