Another Pandemic Holiday Season

 Happy Spooky Season! 

We are coming up on another wonderful holiday season that is only going to be filled with SLIGHTLY more togetherness for those that are able to travel or be with people they were not able to be with last year during this time. 

For my family here in my home, we have some fun plans coming up for this season and we cannot wait to do them. This includes celebrating Halloween with a costume walk around the neighborhood (weather permitting), a spooky scavenger hunt with goodie bags and treats to find, some fun cookie decorating and goodie making, a family pumpkin picture painting activity, and of course making decorations and getting the house all spooky! (I still need to purchase some lights but I am working on it). SO we will be super busy the next few weeks getting the house together and preparing for all the fun to come. 

This really is my favorite time of year because I love the colors, scents, and sounds of the season combined in all the different ways you can do so. 

Of course, this year also comes with its own stressors of the kids being back in school (with masks and with the older ones vaccinated), thinking about all the planning that comes with the holidays when we go from one to another within a month of each other. 

There is one major difference this season and year though, I am more prepared than I have been in a long time. I have made lists and done research about things the kids have mentioned wanting and about what I want for Christmas, I have thought about the dishes we will prepare for Thanksgiving, and I have already ordered the rest of the items I need for Halloween apart from the lights that I still have to get. 

So while the holidays and even the regular days are not 100% back to "normal" we have a great start to this year's festivities and I am excited to see how many new memories we make. 

Hope you all have a safe and healthy holiday season. I will check in around Halloween to post some spooky fun content. 

Happy Haunting! 

A 2020 Pandemic Holiday

So…take a few seconds to breathe because I know 2020 has been a "heartless b*tch". Unfortunately, I don't think that we are that close to returning to normal yet and though the year is almost over there is still a lot in store for us, so we need to make the most of what we have in our lives and use it to our advantage. 

This year it seems that we need some holiday cheer fiercely! We need to get our trees up, do our shopping, add our lights and sparkly garlands, start baking goodies and try to find something to make us smile amid all the sh*t the year has brought us. A lot of us have lost loved ones, spent holidays, and birthdays at home without those we wish we could be with. We've lost jobs, lost friends, and watched the country fall apart during a record-breaking election! It has been hard but not all is lost. 

My family has been lucky. We budget very well, are up to date on our bills, did not suffer any job loss in our home, and have been able to breeze through distance learning like we were meant to do it. Honestly, I owe most of our luck to the fact that my significant other already worked from home, I was already a stay at home mom, and I had supplies on hand for schooling at home because my kids love to learn and love to craft. For us the sadness this year came from missing birthday parties, not being able to visit family or friends, not being able to be outdoors in public places, the annual activities around the holidays that happen in our area, and for the kids, actually being in their classrooms with their teachers and friends. 

That's why this holiday season we are doing our best to make it as most like our traditional along with some new traditions thrown in. We have already started trickling the decorations out so we can see what we need, what might not have made it to this season, and what we have new to put out. Over the next couple of weeks we will be decorating, doing fun Christmas crafts and activities, getting visits from our elf Marshmallow, and baking all the fun goodies that bring us those feelings of nostalgia that we long for so much this year especially. 

My favorite memories of growing up with my Ma for Christmas meant making all kinds of cookies and cakes and treats and making gift boxes for friends and family members. We would decorate her tailoring shop, our house, and even our rooms sometimes. The best day was always Christmas Eve because that meant all the family was stopping by and we were opening all kinds of gifts we all had to pass out. We would cook up some kind of pasta dish we didn't have much like lasagna with sausage and meatballs or stuffed shells. There would be treats and punch and so much laughter and love and gift-giving! In my opinion, it was even better than Christmas morning (until I had kids). I miss it some days but now that I am a mom I am able to do some of those traditions by using my Ma's recipes, decorating, and making it all special and love-filled. 

As this month goes on I will try to update here with some fun family holiday ideas, recipes, and gift ideas. 

Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday. Please wear your masks when outside the home, do not travel if you don't have to, wash your hands and stay socially distant so maybe next year we can all be together again! 

Holiday Weekend Family Fun

Today is Monday and another wonderful week is ahead for the world. The festivities of the weekend still linger on the lawns of those who celebrated with their sparklers and personal fireworks and in my home the only remnants of the weekend are the memories and fun that we had as well as some fun pictures. 
While we did not participate in outside activities due to my recovery, the heat and Spencer being a cranky handful for part of the day we still had a pretty good 4th of July! 

The day started out like any other with the kids ready to greet the day a little sooner than I wish they would on a weekend. (They tend to get up with the sun.) Mckenzee proved just how mature she is getting and just how great it is that she pushes herself to accomplish things with her Scouting because she got up and made scrambled eggs and toast for her and her brothers! I was so surprised and impressed! She was very proud of herself too because as she said "I didn't get ANY shells in my eggs Mama!" A wonderful feat for my 7 year old love! 

Andy's little bit of color

Before

I decided that morning that I would also cut and color my hair. Now to anyone who ever cuts their own hair you know how difficult it can be to cut it straight and good on the back since you can't see it well but after several tries and a few too many inches off it was finally a good looking cut length and I was ready to color it. This is what it looked like before I colored it and finished getting it to an even length. (see picture on the left) Andrew decided he wanted color in his hair too but I didn't want to over do it and I wasn't 100% comfortable with the color I was using going in his hair but being a mom who wants to let the kids try new things I put a little in his hair after I put the majority of it in mine (since I WAS doing my WHOLE head in the color) This is how his turned out. (See ^) Mine ended up being more red than I had anticipated, but I figure I can get the color I really wanted NEXT time (another 6 months or so from now) I do like the way mine looks though so I have no real complaints. (See right -->) 

We wanted to go somewhere or do something with the kids, but with it being so warm and me still not feeling 100% we didn't want to overdo it. Plus we really didn't have much money to go to the places where everyone else seemed to be flocking to. Since we did have a little bit of money to use we decided to take the kids to Shari's for some pie shakes! (They take a piece of their fresh made pies and blend it into some ice cream to make and awesome shake!) They had so many flavors to choose from too, Andrew chose Chocolate Silk, Mckenzee and DJ had Peanut butter chocolate, Spencer had a kids ice cream sundae, and I had their Montana Cherry Pie shake. They were so yummy and a perfect cool down treat to have with the family out and about! 

We finished the night with out cookout of yummy chicken, hot dogs, burgers, potato salad, beans, DJ's special recipe Cole slaw, and chips! It was delicious and we were all very full! We watched Independence Day while the kids played and did their reading for the night. Then the kids then had some Popsicle while we watched the televised fireworks from around the states and they danced with each other to the music. After putting them to bed the neighbors seemed to think it was a good time (10pm) to start setting of some fireworks of their own so DJ took them outside to enjoy them since sleep was out of the question. They went on for quite a while (and the garbage was left out all over the parking lot which I was NOT happy about) but the kids were happy so I was happy! So like a said, all in all a pretty good day! Sunday we just spent hanging out, cleaning up the house while DJ did the grocery shopping, and then had an early turn in night. 

Today we just are recovering from the fun of the weekend and are all a little run down, so after doing the quick chores and some laundry it has mostly been a chill out day. Which I think we all needed as I haven't really had one since leaving the hospital. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend and made some fun memories! From my family to yours! Have a wonderful week! 

End of the Year Update

So Christmas has come and gone and the remnants of the wonderful presents and festivities still dot the floors in the house as the kids run wild and play with all their new toys. It is crazy how hours, weeks and months of planning can be torn open and done in just an hour or two. 

The memories though, of their eyes as they see what "Santa" brought them and the laughter of sharing the day with them is so perfect that the shortness of the day is kind of sad. I wish it were longer just so we could make the fun last!  We had an awesome breakfast on Christmas that I actually put together the night before. It was a baked french toast and it was super delicious. (If you would like the recipe leave me a comment and I will post it) The kids and DJ really enjoyed it (we may tweak it a little the next time though because the syrup on the bottom became a little too candy like). We had it with bacon, sausage, orange juice and ice cold milk! Best way to start the day with the kids! They gobbled it up and there was barely any left. We then moved on to opening the gifts from Santa, the family back in CT, and us! Everyone got some fantastic gifts and I could not be more happy with what I got! Not ONLY did he get me the foot soaking bath I wanted, but he played to my artistic addiction and got me all the art supplies I could want and a gift card to get even more! I mean seriously am I not blessed or what?!

Now it is just a few days until the start of the new year! We have a wonderful ham dinner planned for New Year's Day and for the Eve maybe pizza or chinese or some finger/snack like foods as we play games and watch movies and wait for the midnight countdown. I am really looking forward to it! 

One of my resolutions this coming year is to be more crafty and DIY more. I am going to start that by making my own smile jar! Every time something makes me smile I am going to write it down and place it in the jar, then on days when I am really upset or need a reason to smile I will take it out and remember to smile more (which is another resolution) and at the end of 2015 I am going to share my smile jar with my family! So they can hear about all the reasons they gave me to smile throughout the year! 

I am hoping I can keep up with this blog a little bit more too as I hate when months have passed between my posts. I know I do not have a lot of readers but it would be nice to have a few. 

Hope you all ring in the year with fun, laughter, and family! HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

#MamaHolidayFun 

Fall is in the Air!

The colors of the season are upon us. The crisp air, the breezes that lift the leaves from the trees and drop them so perfectly on the slowly fading grasses of summer, the scent of apples and pumpkin everything! 

I am a huge fan of this time of year! I love pretty much everything about it! I love dressing up a little warmer, I love taking pictures of the changing leaves, I love going apple and pumpkin picking. I cannot wait to take the kids out to pick their pumpkins and take their pictures with the fall backgrounds. 

This will be Spencer's first walking Halloween, where he can actually say "Trick or Treat" and get his own treats! I am very excited about it. My mom is sending us a costume too so I don't have to worry about finding him one (which is good with finances being tight and all). This year he is going to be Sully from Monsters, Inc. Mckenzee will be one of three characters, depending on whether my mother gets them done or not. We picked up a Belle from Beauty and the Beast costume but shhhh we are giving it to her for her birthday on Friday since she LOVES to play dress up! However if my mother gets them done, Mckenzee will also have her choice of either Elsa or Anna to be this year as well. 

This year also marks our first Thanksgiving AND Christmas on our own without any others living in the house with us. The holidays will be small and a little tight but we are SO going to make it work! #MakingItWork 

Anyways, I just really wanted to share this with you all, here are some pictures I took over the years at pumpkin picking and one I took of a tree in our yard/parking area! 

I love the colors in this one! 

Fun at the farm! 

More Fun! 

These we fun to take! 

My favorite shot! 

My kiddos over the years! 

#FallFun #MamaLovesAutumn

Been a While, Been VERY BUSY!

So here is a quick list of what I have done lately:

Started a new fitness/health regime

Organized my paperwork and such

Deep cleaned various parts of the house (even the bathroom YUCK!)

Made a new chore/job list for Mckenzee and her allowance

We got 4 new fish, one betta, 2 mickey mouse platys, and a red wag platy
   (their names are "Princess Pinkheart", "Nemo", "Merida", and "Tony Shark")

I also started cutting out squares for my Spencer's quilt because I have a new sewing/quilting machine!

I was so excited to get this it is something I have always wanted, and now I can repair and make lots of things (once I get some fabric) and I cannot wait!

DJ and I had an awesome Valentine's Date! Dinner, Ferry ride, two grown adults having a kid-free blast at an arcade! Much needed fun!

This is us in a 3D Zombie Killing Game! It was awesome and scary and totally the best!

Oh and one of the best parts:

FRIED PICKLE CHIPS!!! These were so incredibly awesome! Of course DJ is not a pickle fan so I had these babies all to myself and I wanted to finish all of them because it just seemed like a shame to waste any of it but I was unable to...and because they would have been no good had I tried to bring them home since just the ferry ride alone is an hour long, I left some behind...sadness.

Valentine's Day Plans (looking forward to for once)

Now before you get all anti-Valentine's Day on me you have to understand that for the most of my adult life I have completely HATED this holiday! Out of all the years of which I have been a grown up only a handful of February 14ths have been worth remembering. I do remember some of the worst ones.  I was in court on one in 2003 because of a stupid misunderstanding with someone who shoplifted. (Not me) Another I was so sick I could barely move and ended up in the hospital.  Yet another one I was cheated on AND broken up with (within hours). So I can say that for once I am truly looking forward to it! 

DJ and I have made some plans to go out and have fun without the children.  We rarely go anywhere without them and I think the last "date night" we actually had was back in July after Andrew went back to CT to be with his dad. It was a pretty great night that really helped with how I had felt at that time. (Thank you DJ) 

Anyways, this time I am not depressed, I am not feeling lost, and the date night will hopefully go well! 

We have a babysitter set up, a plan for dinner for the kids, and then a ferry to catch to Seattle for OUR fun. 

On Friday since Mckenzee doesn't have school and DJ is off work we are going to spend ACTUAL Valentine's Day together doing perhaps a day trip or something fun as a family! That should be awesome and something new for us that I am thinking just might be one of those tradition things. Heck I don't mind doing the ADULT Valentine's date on the 13th and then a family one on the actual day. Oh and just to warn you who actually READ my blog....I will be posting pictures probably both on Facebook and here in my blog when I write up how the next two days go on probably either Friday or Saturday night! So you can feel free to skip over those posts and watch "The Notebook" instead! ....Which is probably what I would be doing if I were back in CT away from DJ or single, oh and I would probably be eating my favorite chick flick snack mix of Cool Ranch Doritos and peanut M&Ms. Of course even NOW I love that as a snack (some pregnancy cravings NEVER go away). 

Ok well I have a busy day tomorrow because I plan to get up early and shower before getting Mckenzee up for school and then DJ and I have some shopping to do (I am hoping to get a new outfit for our date!) and maybe even that thing I was talking about in my previous blog post (fingers crossed). So I must be thee all G'night and try not to miss me too too much! 

Until next time!!!!

Feeling Wonderfully Surprised!

Today turned out to be a very surprising day for me. First we started our day with a breakfast made by DJ and me, more him though (he made the breakfast quesadillas). Then we got everyone dressed and headed out to get our Christmas tree, Spencer slept through it but Mckenzee had fun! Then after that we went to pick up the presents that were gotten for us by a Sponsor family through the "Angel Christmas Program".  

     THIS is where the surprise came in, see when I have been a part of these programs before back in CT it was usually just a gift or two bought for the kids and they had to be wrapped. Well that is not the case this time around, this time we owe a lot of thanks to the family that sponsored us because they were more generous then I could have ever dreamed.  Not only were the gifts all wrapped, tagged and bowed, but there was a massive amount of them, when I did a final count there were at least 50 gifts! It was crazy! I was shocked, I wanted to cry tears of joy and surprise and immense blessing! When I pulled them all out to stack them and see if any needed repairs (and to separate the ones for Andy for when he comes in the summer) I was literally shaking! My heart was like the Grinch's I swear it grew "3 sizes"! 

     Our first Christmas in WA is going to be even more wonderful, and Spencer's first Christmas ever will be better than I ever thought it would be! 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ONE AND ALL!!!