The Dreaded Family Christmas Photo Shoot

So you know how as an adult we have a lot of things that we have to do that we don't necessarily want to do? ha! Well, Christmas pics is in that category for me! I realize that no one is twisting my arm or telling me I HAVE to take them but I feel like it is my duty as a mom to take that annual happy family picture that we can look back on and laugh about in years to come!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE pictures. Tex even asked me when we moved if I thought people would think it was weird that we had so many family photos hanging up but I love them and the bigger the better! What I am talking about is the hidden world behind the scenes of family photos. The begging, pleading, the sweating (me), the bribery, the crazy whisper voice threatening your children's life! haha! I hope you all know what I am talking about :)

This year we had a sweet family friend who was nice enough to bring her camera down and snap some photos. I might have had a coronary if we had to pay for a sitting fee and pictures this time because things were BAD!

Is anyone paying attention besides me? haha! These are the GOOD ones! Seriously Tex and I almost peed our pants because he ruined 80% of the pictures not the kids! He was looking in the polar opposite direction of the camera in 95/116 pics! WTH? :)

I was starting to sweat about here.... My mind was churning with things that I could bribe my kids with. Just PLEASE freaking look at the camera!~

Annie was starting to come along in some of these although she was too busy swing around the pole and I SERIOUSLY hope I never have to make that statement again concerning my daughter!

We both have tense smiles in this one I think I am starting to grind my teeth realizing this whole thing is a bust and not going to work!

Cute but Palmer looks disgusted!

Cute, right? Ok, what you don't know is Annie was banging herself into the door about 10 times disturbing EVERYONE in the coffee shop that I was forced in. We just happened to capture a brief pause.

Again, who is everyone looking at? Are there people around us that I don't see?

And I will end with the precious fake smiles that they LOVE to give as I am behind the camera saying please just smile like mommy said something funny, relax your face! I promise I am not a toddlers and tiaras stage mom, I just want a normal smile!

By the end of it I was tired, sweating and SO glad to be done! I don't know if any 20X24 canvas' will be going up this year but I do know this is what life is all about. This is the stuff we will laugh at when the kids are home from college and want to go thru old photos and I can exaggerate even more and tell them what heck they put me thru each year just trying to get a good family pic!

As much as I dread the prep and what happens at these photo shoots (meaning the crazy person that takes over myself and my kids) I love, love, love that we put ourselves thru it each year because I couldn't think of anything more precious than to look back and see the growth and changes as each year goes by and to think about all of the blessings that came with each stage!

Redneck Ice Skating and Santa!

Here are some pics from one of the most fun days of our Thanksgiving break! I call it redneck ice skating, I haven't seen anything like it but I also think I have been ice skating 1 time in my life when I was 12 :) ha! We have a really nice place called the riverpark center here that has an outdoor ice skating rink with a huge movie screen and inside they have shows, etc... and that is where Santa and Mrs. Clause are at.

Well, we decided to go and thought it would be packed but to our surprise there was hardly any one there! We had an absolute blast and the best part it was totally FREE! The kids had a great time, I am sure it will become more packed as the weeks passed but we definitely hit the jackpot this past weekend! Here are some pictures!

Ok this is why I call it redneck ice skating. Notice A. No skates :) and B. We used Milk Crates to keep us stable! How great is that! The kids could pretend skate and hold their balance with the milk crates!

Ann Mason skating in her lepord dress and boots! We just got our family pictures taken.

We actually were there twice in one day! Ann Mason got a little braver at night!

This sweet kid was in heaven, I think he could have stayed out there for hours! He loved every minute of it and even liked falling on the ice!

Oh this picture kills me! Look at their hands. I know other siblings love each other more than anything but I am biased and I have to say that these two just love each other so much it breaks my heart. I mean they fight like cats and dogs but they can't do anything without each other, I love it! I want them to go to college together and buy houses next to each other and live happily ever after! ha!

The family on the ice skating rink! It was so much fun, we can't wait to go back!

Here is ONE of our family pictures! I will save these for a whole other post. We may look happy but I am telling you they were a disaster! haha!

Palmer telling Tex everything he was going to ask Santa for on the way in!

Um, last year this girl was SCARED to death of Santa like convulsions and screaming! This year she picked Santa's brain, gave him her toy list and even asked him if he had his "underwears" on! I about died and so did Mrs. Clause! Oh, Annie what are we going to do with you?

The kids with Santa and Mrs. Clause. I LOVE Palmer's face! What a perfect age for Santa! He really, really believes! To be that age again, priceless!

It was a perfect outing and a perfect weekend! Wish every week was 3 days of work and 4 days of play!

Don't Miss Out!

DON'T MISS THIS DEAL IF YOU HAVEN'T GOTTEN YOUR CHRISTMAS CARDS!!!!

I had to share the love because my friend Elizabeth at All About the Adkins shared it this weekend on her blog and it totally SAVED me!

This website is awesome and ALL of their cards are on sale for .49 cents each! I am talking about the nice $2 + cards that fold, have multiple pics, story lines, etc... I placed my order this weekend and the original total was going to be $156 and it came down to $42!!! Now that's a deal! Love this site! Go check it out at www.cardstore.com!

Thanksgiving Weekend Part I

Man, I am SO bummed to be back at work and back to Reality! We had such a good family fun weekend I didn't want it to end and neither did the kiddos! I swear they get funnier and funnier and we had such a good time with them this weekend, they just make me laugh non stop! I was on picture overload cause I got a new camera!!! Woohoo! I will post more about it later but I LOVE it and it is AWESOME!

Thursday we woke up early and ALL (everyone and Molly the dog) piled up in the mini van and headed to Georgetown, KY to my dad's house. My sweet sister in law hosts Thanksgiving every year and even though we don't always get to make it, we enjoy it so much when we do!

We all spent the night at my dad's which is just hilarious. My dad has not had any people spend the night in 20 years! I think he was pretty excited to have his house filled with dogs, kids, noise, clutter, etc... ha! Good thing it was only for one night. We will break him in for Christmas.

Papaw with a "hat" as the kids call him before we left for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Dawn (dad's fiance), her daughter Emily and dad

Jillian and Mia

Love, Love, Love this picture! The kids had SOO much fun playing. We are missing Piper and Belle so we will have to get another one soon!

Myself, Mia and Dawn! I didn't get any pics of Tex or me hardly!

The cutie kiddos! They just were SO happy being with family and playing with their cousins!

My sister in law was SO sweet and watched the kids so that Tex and I could both see my papaw in the hospital! We took him some Turkey Day food but he wasn't much on eating but got really excited about chocolate ice cream! I am happy to report that he is finally back home. He has a long way to go and a lot of decision to be made about his care but he is SO happy that he is home and that is all we care about!

Thanksgiving this year was definitely a blessing and an awesome day! It is easy for me to get down about the  things that I don't have or prayers that haven't been answered but if I turn those thoughts to everything that I have been given and prayers that have been answered my gratitude is immeasurable! God is GOOD!

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!!!

I probably won't be blogging for the next couple of days because I will be eating, spending time with family and watching Christmas movies! haha We are so excited, we can't wait for the long weekend!

Christmas Parade 2011

It's Tuesday which means tomorrow is MY FRIDAY! I am SOOOO ready for a long weekend spending time with my family! I am envisioning lots of good foods, naps, LOT of Christmas movies (my dvr is filling up at rapid speed with all of the best Christmas movies) and just good ol quality time!! I haven't made many plans other than Thanksgiving day and I just want to relax and enjoy time with Tex and the kiddos and our families! So blessed and thankful this year for what God has done in our lives!!

This past weekend was just plain AWESOME! We were busy but it was tons of fun! We had a birthday party, went to see Happy Feet 2, ate ice cream at the new Orange Leaf here in Owensboro (way to go Owensboro!) I had girls night and the most fun of all was the Christmas Parade 2011!

This was my first Owensboro Christmas parade and it was SO fun and hilarious. Because you know, everyone in Owensboro knows everyone! So, my "crew" was screaming at everyone going by on the floats and waving, I loved it! You know who else loved it? PALMER! The kid was nearly shaking with excitement I totally got teary eyed in the middle of the parade watching his sweet face, those are truly life's moments!

My sweet niece and I!

The start of the parade with firetrucks and police cars! Palmer was in heaven!

My happy, happy boy!

Annie and Mamaw! She was talking the whole time, too busy to watch the parade!

Love him! So proud of him, even last year Palmer fought with a lot of anxiety and loud noises would really upset him and make him panic, he has grown up SO much and his anxiety has decreased dramatically I couldn't be more happy!

Waiting, waiting, waiting.... how fun is this kid going to be in Disney if he is this excited about the parade? ha!

KK and EE the kid's sidekicks!

My sweet babies!

Our whole "crew" we were told we were definitely the loudest section there!

So, miss thang didn't exactly LOVE the parade. So I took her to the restaurant downtown where we were having girls night later on and luckily it wasn't crowded and they let us sit at the big table and we ordered an appetizer together!~ Annie's request fries and ranch, so healthy! She looked at me and said, "Mom, we're having girls night!! Just me and you!" Probably one of the best moments ever. We just sat and ate fries and ranch and talked like old friends, I love this girl!

So, as a side note I guess the link up was a bust! haha I guess I didn't know how it would work until I tried? Maybe next time, right?

I don't know about you but I am super pumped for this long weekend and it can't get here soon enough!

Christmas Card Showcase Mondays!

Ok guys it is my VERY FIRST LINK UP! Christmas Card Showcase!!! I already gave a preview of our previous cards for Christmas so here are some of the cards that I have found for this year that I think are TO DIE FOR! LOVE THEM!

Please link up and show us your Christmas Cards or ideas for new Christmas Cards for 2011! I can't wait to see all of the awesome cards and ideas!!!

The first two cards are from tiny prints, GREAT website for ALL cards!

LOVE this card and what it says!

This next card is one of my fav's! I am LOVING the tri-folds this year! I think they are an awesome way to add more pictures and the design is great!

This one is from Shutterfly. How can you not love this card?  I mean that cute little face, seriously? I also love the "We Believe"! I think it is magical!

These next two cards are from aNEW website I just found tonight, Pear Tree Greetings. I think this may be my favorite site for Christmas Cards so far! I am sure there are thousands out there but this site is original, creative and reasonably priced!

I am loving the cards that tell a little story about your year! We have had SO many life changes in 2011 it would be nice to update all of our family and friends. I think this is an awesome way to do it!

And this card is not only cute AND has text but the packaging gets an A+ in my book! Too, too cute! 

I could browse websites and Christmas cards all day! I can't wait to see your Christmas Cards and ideas! Link up and share with us!

Operation Christmas Card 2011!

FYI- I am working on MY FIRST Link Up EVER!!! I will be having a link up every Monday - Christmas Card Showcase Monday's!!! You can link up your past and present Christmas Cards and any fun and new ideas that you have seen for the most AWESOME Christmas Cards of the season! Get ready for the link up coming this Monday....
I LOVE Christmas Cards! Love them, love them, love them! I am just as guilty as anyone about sending e-greetings, emails, posting birthday messages on facebook! I have tried so hard to get better at sending out actual real cards but I fail :) Now Christmas Cards, that's the one thing I always am on top of! Um, except for this year. I don't know why I feel so behind! I keep seeing all of these amazing cards but I don't have a picture!

Luckily we are having a family friend take our pics on Sunday! I can't wait to get them back and start creating our 2011 Christmas Card. I wish I had the extra money to buy all of those AMAZING cards they have come out with this year. They have tri-folds, books, time-line cards, etc... Just plain awesome!

Some of my favorite websites for cards are Shutterfly, Tiny Prints,Mixbook and storkie just to name a few! I can't wait to pick out our card for this year! I love getting them just as much as I love sending them. There is nothing better than opening the mailbox to find Christmas Cards with all kinds of adorable pictures and designs from people that we LOVE!

Here are our Christmas cards from the past two years! I love looking back and seeing the difference in the kiddos with each year. They are getting too big!

What will this years Christmas Card look like? I can hardly wait!

Day 5, Five Foods!

Ok, ok this is the HARDEST challenge by far. I have always had a love/hate relationship with food!  I am a lover of foods and a hater of what it does to my body! ha! There are days when I just think about what I am going to eat my next meal and I have to STOP :) I am just being honest, right? I have gotten better but I LOVE to cheat and go crazy deciding on all of the bad things I want to put in my mouth! It is terrible! The weekends are the worst, during the week I can usually hold myself together and eat semi-healthy but the weekends take a lot restraint which I usually don't have!

To try and save money the fam and I have all but quit going out to eat! It was one of our favorite hobbies! haha But now that it has been a few months it doesn't seem near as bad and when we do go out to eat I get all huffy when the bill comes and realize how much money it is to feed four people :) So we are taking the money we save on not going out to eat and getting a family membership at the Y! Baby steps, right? I think we will all enjoy being active over going out to eat (or at least most of the time we will! )

So here is the MOST random list of 5 foods ever created! ha!

1. COLD STONE CREAMERY ALL LOVIN NO OVEN (I substitute the fudge for caramel) the cake batter ice cream is TO DIE FOR! My mouth just waters thinking about it!

Cold Stone is A-MAZING!

2. CONDIMENTS!! I will eat anything if I can dip it into something! Some of my fav condiments include: Restaurant Ranch, I mean how good is real, true restaurant ranch? Chick-fil-a Honey Mustard, give me 12 please! Garlic Butter and Marina sauce at pizza places! Arby's and Horsey sauce from of course, Arby's. Tarter sauce, Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo, Miracle Whip, Horseradish, the list goes on... You name it, I would probably love it!

3. I go to the movies just for this stuff.... Movie Theatre Butter Popcorn! I know at least a handful of times the hubs and I have literally gotten sick from eating so much popcorn at the movies, we LOVE it! The more butter the better!!! So BAD for you!

3. CHEESE!!! All kinds, Any Form, Anywhere, Any time on Any thing! I mean it, if there was one food I couldn't eat and cheese was it I would be devastated! I can pretty much say that I would give up anything else before cheese, it makes everything better!

And last but certainly not least, SUSHI! OMG, I could eat this stuff by the pounds! I love it all, mainly the rolls! I even got Tex to like it years ago which for a meat and potatoes kind of guy was amazing! To me fresh sushi is one of the best things in the world!

So now that I just listed my favorite foods I probably need to hit the treadmill :) This whole post is pretty much about over indulgence! ha! Hopefully I can restrain myself thru the holidays, man all of the parties and food get me every time! ha!