Christmas Tour of Home...mine to be exact!

I just wanted to share the fruits of our Christmas decorating labor...and, of course, some commentary! (Click on the pics to see them larger...or not...whatever.)

This cute little tree is a new addition this year...kind of. We had the tree last year but the ornaments are new...um...old...err...old as I am, new to me.

whatever...

My grandmother made all of these ornaments for me when I was born and my mom doesn't use them on any of her trees anymore, so she gave them to me! Yahoo! I LOVE this tree!



This tree is full of ornaments made by three of the most precious people in my life...my kiddos. I picked a few of my faves.



Here is our "big" tree with all the ornaments from the last 9 1/2 years of our marriage. On the left are two ornaments that I made for mine and Paul's very first Christmas tree...in fact the first year...I made every.single.ornament. on the tree and I still have them ALL. On the right are two ornaments that I bought this year...and on this tree are the other 9 years in between.




*Here are just a few random items I love around my house right now. I have a cool jar thingy with some Christmas ornaments all around it...and that's all I have to say about that.
*I love my mantle and I made that wreath...and that's all I have to say about that.
*The Nativity scene was the first one my mom got when she and my dad got married. It is one of the few sacred items in my home.
*The "plastic-looking" box...is one of our most favorite items at Christmas time. It's a type of advent calendar that takes you through the Christmas story and straight to Salvation story. So far one of our children has been saved through the use of this "plastic box" and we are praying that it will continue for years to come.

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And finally...here are the trees that are in our rooms...and don't ask me why Abby's lights aren't on...we have no idea!




Well that's it. A Christmas tour through my house! Hope you enjoyed it...

A Special Thing

Just before the Thanksgiving holidays, I took Abby shopping and we found this super cute outfit with a "coffee" cup on it. Well, Abby HAD TO HAVE IT!!! I didn't even try to explain to her that the cup on the shirt was really hot chocolate...I just resolved that it was, indeed, a coffee cup.

Abby then told me right away that since she had a coffee shirt, Dado (my dad) could take her to get coffee at Starbucks. So when we got to Dado's house for the Thanksgiving holidays...Dado took Abby (in her "coffee" shirt) to Starbucks for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. I got to go along...but I did NOT have a coffee shirt...

Here's the way we started our Thanksgiving Day...awesome.

Twas the Two Weeks before Christmas...

Twas the two weeks before Christmas and all through the house
Every creature was stirring...including the mouse!

My husband and I sat down at lunch today and we were talking across the table, over the voices of our 3 little people, and I had my calendar out and we began to lose time quickly.

I was spouting off dates of Christmas parties and class projects and he was spouting off more dates of parties and youth activities. Abby and I are traveling next weekend and then the following weekend Paul is traveling and so on and so on!

We finally just closed the calendar and ate our lunch...it was getting all to crazy...

I was so spoiled this last week! We had nothing to do...
On Saturday we L.I.T.E.R.A.L.L.Y. had nothing to do...what??? That is simply un-heard of! Our family always has something...so I was a little overwhelmed when I saw the madness was stirring in the VERY near future...like...starting tomorrow!

Don't get me wrong...I'm excited about a little hustle and bustle...and MANY of the things we have planned I am VERY excited about.

Specifically???

1.Our staff Christmas Party tomorrow night...this is ALWAYS a super fun time.

AND

2.This weekend, Abby and I are flying to Dallas to see The Night Before Christmas Ballet with my mom, aunt and nieces...very fun!


Right now, I am trying to get my people ready to go to AWANA's and it would probably be easier if I wasn't typing...so

Merry Christmas!

Holiday decor, travels and such...

This week is Thanksgiving....um...yes, I know that is a blinding glimpse of the obvious...anyway.

This week is Thanksgiving and we always have lots of things to do. Our schools are not out yet so we will hang out here until Wednesday morning. We have all kinds of Thanksgiving festivities with the kids classes that happen to ALL be TOMORROW! So I will figure that out with my cloning machine later tonight. My house also needs to be cleaned before we leave because...well just because. So I am hoping to make an appointment with the Free House Cleaning Fairy. Hopefully she will be able to work us in!

I have already decorated my house for Christmas. Ok, Ok! For all of you who are cussing me right now because I jumped the gun on the decorating, please stop and hear me out! Because we travel, this is a necessary step in making the holidays "Merry and Bright". Waiting until we get home is NOT merry and bright! It makes for ugly and dull around my house. This weeked I spent a wonderful time with my family decorating. It was stress-free and happy. I was not trying to get 3 kids to come down from the Nana-izing that will occur this coming weekend. I was not sick of being in the car for-e.v.e.r. because all 5 million college students are on the road with us. We drank hot chocolate, we decorated and it was pleasant. And here are the pics to prove it.










So when we leave on Wednesday, we will be headed North along with, as I said earlier, 5 million college students! This is a phenomenon that we were not aware of when we moved here! Then the first time we went back north for the holidays it took us 9 (NINE!) hours to get back! For those of you who don't know, that is about 4 (FOUR!) hours TOO LONG! We then started thinking it through and figured out that many, MANY colleges are between here and there and everyone travels on the same days! Not so much fun. So, here's hoping that we miss the college rush! Maybe they will sleep in on Wednesday while we get up early and go!

The Time...it has escaped me!

Oh my stars! It has been three (3, I tell you!) weeks since I have blogged. I am sure all BOTH of my readers have been wondering where, oh where, have I been.

Well I'm a-gonna tell ya!

Three weeks ago, my bestie had a baby! Ms. Hailey Rae joined us in this crazy world and I have been loving on her.

Then there was Halloween. I had three super heroes for Halloween and we had a great time at our church Fall Festival...but that took up some of the blogging time.

Then there was my birth-week...because people, I do not have a birthDAY, that's just to short. I much prefer a birth-week...and it was a GREAT one. 31 is not, ahem, too bad. I'm not dead yet! Actually with me participating in the Boot Camp that I go to, it has made 31 pretty great. I'm stronger and faster than I have been since high school and it makes me feel good.

Then there was last week.
*Saturday, started the madness. Jacob played his last football game, we went across San Antonio to watch my brother-in-law coach his college team and that took ALL day. I know you are probably reading this and thinking..."really, Tanya, ALL day? How could that possibly been the least bit crazy of a day?" Well, it was, trust me.

*Sunday, was, well Sunday...and Sundays are always crazy.

*Monday, was fun, I did a photo shoot with a good friend of mine and, the afore mentioned besties baby. We had great fun taking P.R.E.C.I.O.U.S. pictures of this blessed miracle that God gave to my dear friends!

*Tuesday, was so long ago I have no idea what I did...oh yeah, I did play Bunco on Tues. night...but that's pretty much all I can recall.

*Wednesday, I STAYED HOME! Woohoo! I have'nt said that in a sweet forever! When the kids got out of school though it was back to business as usual though...gymnastics and Wednesday night church festivities.

*Thursday I hosted a baby shower.

*Friday I helped at the boys school, helped run the Shopping Extravaganza PTA event, went to Jacob's end of the season football party, cried when the coach gave Jacob his trophy and said some great things about my kid, got a call from another pregnant friend who said she was in labor, met such friend at my house to watch her two kids, had a "sleepover" with the extra kids and then went to bed.

*Saturday (today) Paul went hunting, shot a buck, started this blog post, Paul cleaned the buck, I took Abby shopping with two other friends (mine, not hers...remember, I'm crazy - not stupid!), saw friend with new baby, stayed at the hospital for 2 hours!

AND THEN

Came home to 25ish teenage boys watching UFC fight night in my house and a bonfire in the backyard and I am now finishing this post. now. all done.

now.

Character Day at RBES

Make a Smilebox postcard

Well, now that you have looked at my precious boys in their fantastic costumes, let me tell you a little story.

It all started a couple of weeks ago when I got the paper home in the boys backpacks explaining the Red Ribbon Week spirit days. Friday was book character day. So I started talking to my boys about what book character they wanted to be. They both immediately said they wanted to be Clone Troopers. I then had to go into this enormous monologue explaining to them why they could NOT go to school as Clone Troopers or Spiderman or Anakin Skywalker...I know you want to wear that, but you cannot carry a light saber into the school, they'll turn momma in.

So Caleb finally decided on being a dinosaur. I don't know what book it was from, but I'm sure there is a dinosaur in some book, somewhere in the world...so I told Caleb he could be a dinosaur.

Yessss! One down.

Jacob was still struggling with his decision and we were still struggling with the understanding that superheroes, no matter how good, were not acceptable "book characters"!

He finally shows me a website that they use at school with some audio books on it and he tells me he LOVES the Ace Lacewing Bug Dectective books. Awesome. Soooo, what exactly does Ace Lacewing look like? Well basically...he's a bug...detective...
I know...I know...

So I make some wings with some pantyhose and hangers...a wonderful trick my grandmother taught me...I get a hat from the dress-up clothes and attach some pipe cleaner antenae...and ta! da! Ace Lacewing Bug Dectective.

Meanwhile, Caleb is searching and searching for the Dinosaur costume that I KNOW we have SOMEWHERE! and he can't find it. So we go into a major meltdown because it's Thursday night and we can't find the dinosaur.

Ugh.

So I start going through all the books we have on the shelf that I have corresponding costumes for in the playroom...of course I'm thinking to myself, "Dang it! Why can't he just be Spiderman or Anakin Skywalker, or a Clone Trooper!" I did NOT, however, voice that opinion out loud. I am beginning to get really frustrated because Caleb cannot make up his mind and he keeps whining about wanting to be a dinosaur..."SON...I don't know where it is!!!" ...then...more calmly..."you have to pick something else."

I finally narrowed his choices for him to 3 books that I knew I could make costumes for in record time...it was afterall almost 8pm the NIGHT BEFORE IT WAS DUE! Nothing like waiting til the last minute....don't worry, my Mom already spoke to me about this...so keep your comments to yourself. Thank you.

FINALLY...he picked the mouse and I was secretly, EXTREMELY happy, because I knew I could whip out some mouse ears and a tail.

And I did.

The next morning the kids put their costumes on, I took the pics up above, Paul took them to school, I went to get coffee, I got to the school, saw the boys...NO COSTUMES. Yep they basically wore them to school and took them off as soon as they got to their classrooms.

Not. Awesome.

None the less...they WERE cute.

My Day According to Facebook

So I had this idea for a blog this morning. I thought I would blog my day today the same way I would update my Facebook if I updated all day long. So here goes.

Tanya Brand got to sleep in today because my husband woke up and got the kids dressed and then took them to school...AND brought me my favorite kolache Honey Creek Bakery.

Tanya Brand got up and got dressed and got to school a little early because I had lots to do before the kiddos came.

Tanya Brand stapled fire hats together for my preschoolers to wear.

Tanya Brand dressed up like a fireman...in complete gear...to prove to the preschoolers that it was not a scary alien in the suit, it's a regular person who wants to help you...and by the way, that gear is HEAVY...good thing I work out.

Tanya Brand sweat ALOT in the firefighter gear...like "gross" alot.

Tanya Brand was excited when my husband took all three kids to Wal-Mart so I could be alone for a few short minutes...and instead I filed paperwork at school...boo.

Tanya Brand came home and sat on my boo-tay for one hour and 13 minutes before my hair appointment.

Tanya Brand went to Sonic to get a burger before my hair appt. and got a coupon for a free Rt.44 drink for tomorrow! Yay!

Tanya Brand got my hair did! It's been way to long...I was starting to look skunk-esque...and that's not hot.

Tanya Brand is going home with wet hair because it's cheaper than going home with dry hair.

Tanya Brand came home to my daughter playing outside and when I got out of the car I hear this..."Oh no I pooped in my pants!"

Tanya Brand found out from my husband that Abby was having a little poop situation this afternoon...good to know.

Tanya Brand cleaned up Abby's poop situation.

Tanya Brand told the boys to clean their room.

Tanya Brand is getting angry at the amount of crap-ola that can be stored underneath a 5 year old boy's bed.

Tanya Brand is cleaning up old, moldy cat throw up that has just been discovered because it was under the afore mentioned 5 year old boy's bed.

Tanya Brand has also discovered that the boys carpet is wet and is looking for the hubs to diagnose the problem...quickly.

Tanya Brand's hubs discovers that the water situation is from the AC condensation thingy that was clogged...but is now unclogged...because I have a regular "Handy Manny."

Tanya Brand is ready to sit down but I am vaccuming up roly poly's from the boys room.

Tanya Brand is now sitting down watching Survivor and eating popcorn and drinking a tasty blended smoothie that the hubs has made.

Tanya Brand is blogging about her day according to facebook.

The End.