Christmas morning and a new family member.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

You heard me right!

Today, we celebrated Christmas-- since Jeff will be working on the big day.
But, we made it special-- and I cannot lie...

when we needed batteries and could just go out to the store and get them without waiting until tomorrow, I was SO pleased.

I called Santa to let him know to come early and visit our house.
He did just that, and made sure to give us each what we wanted.

Josh made out like a bandit with his new art easel.
Ben was dancing around the room with his new robot and "martian maker".

Somehow, I kept a secret and surprised Jeff with a media player and a new 6 man tent.

And somehow-- I must have been such a good girl this year as Santa brought me just what I wanted!

A new DSLR Canon Rebel EOS. (with live view!)

I am in heaven.
-- I knew I was a little too excited when I had run out of things to take pictures of so I started zooming in on a half eaten slice of Christmas pie!

New pictures to come soon!

dark chocolate and a side of bangs.

Today, I met with my beloved hairstylist and decided to go:

Well, my exact words were really, "The darkest brown you've got without actually going black."

Once the suds were washed away, I discovered this rich chocolate color. I'm loving it!

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Have I ever told you that I am addicted to:

I've had them my whole life-- they just change a little bit year to year.
Baby, I even had bangs when they were out of style. I am so glad they are back!

pajama-glam.

I am so tired!

Today called for hot cocoa, magazines, Tivo-ed episodes of Martha Stewart, and jammies--

(Don't those booties just scream sexy momma?!) But, you know me.
I had to add:

No reason to be totally unrepresentable. (What if the mail man came by with an unexpected Christmas package? At least my faux-ruby crusted heart earrings could make me pass for in the PROCESS of becoming presentable.)
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I have been running so fast this season-- today was the first day I actually got to stroll around the house and appreciate all the little Christmas touches.

My new favorites for the year are the baby Christmas trees we set up for the boys:

Oh golly, I sure love Hobby Lobby!
Last year when Christmas was at 90% off clearance, I snatched those little trees up for less than $2.
I didn't want to pay the $13 apiece asking price for the miniature tree skirts this Christmas season, so I just bought a yard of black and white gingham and cut it in half. (One for each!)

It's a little:
Just like my ruby earrings.

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Just spreading the holiday cheer.

my main squeeze.

No fail Christmas cookie tip #436

When icing cookies, especially those pesky and time consuming little gingerbread men:

It's useful for detail work, outlining, faces, and as Josh demonstrates:

I came up with this idea today at the start of my cooking class as a way to keep the powdered sugar icing mess to a minimum, and the decorating capacity to a maximum. (All I could see in my mind was a huge, dripping bowl of sticky icing, and 5 flailing knives!)

We all took turns, and a little bit of icing went a very LONG way! (well, until the bottle made it's way around to Josh and his BIG EYED gingerbread man.)

Necessity is indeed the mother of invention.

Thanks necessity! You've given me yet another reason to use my noggin.

folks dressed up like eskimos.

The boys were ecstatic when we got the "school's cancelled" call this morning. They were begging that they go right outside, pronto!

They were insistent on playing in it-- even though the "it" was freezing rain, and not really snow.
But, they didn't care, it was white and cold!
They didn't seem to mind, even through they were sporting:

There were three things they wanted.
1. a snowball fight.

2. to build a snowman.

3. to eat snow.
To accomplish any of the three, first they had to:

It was a short romp outside, but still ending in the same manner as most: hot cocoa!

Sadly, they were back inside in about:

Due to the cold knees factor.
-and- that a small chunk of ice had made it's way down Ben's jacket and to his warm belly during their "snowball fight". I didn't want to wake the neighbors with his wailing!

It's cold here.

Like, arctic cold.

If you throw a little of the humid air into a racing windy 24 degree day, it hits you down to the bone.
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I know some of you think that Texas is like the surface of the sun-- but we do get quite chilly.

I about froze the tips of my toes and my nose off picking up Josh from school.

And then there was the line at the post office, don't even get me started.

It's been a busy day. (Hence the picture from my last post.)

But, I knew you would understand!

christmas cards and blackjack.

Yesterday was the perfect day to take a family photo!

Lots of thanks go to my friend Laura for letting us use her photography skillz and high-tech camera to capture the annual Christmas card photo!

And, what happens when you schedule a photo day?

Something always happens.

Josh's tooth decided to jump ship that morning, leaving him minus one tooth in his wide and friendly grin!That's growing up for you. (cute?! They really do love each other.)

I laughed when I saw this picture-- a little too PG-13 for the Christmas card, but I love it so. I told Jeff to kiss me, and this is what happened!

But then, he did.

Later that evening, we dressed to impress and headed out for a night on the town.
Jeff's company had their annual Christmas party at a fancy hotel downtown, with caterers-- and beef medallions-- chicken satay skewers-- Bre cheese-- and other things you only eat at parties. I had never had a beef medallion.

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Right before I went to get the babysitter, we:

He likes to capture large areas of ceiling in his shots.

Either that, or he decapitates you.

And again, more ceiling space.

Eventually, we made it and had our beef medallions. (not bad!)
The company gave us each $5000 play money and set us loose in the casino they had set up in the ballroom for:

And, yes it was fun! It felt a bit naughty too, as I tossed my $1000 chips onto the board for a bet.

At the end, I bet it all and lost. Oh well, easy come-- easy go.

At least I learned that:

Jeff was up by $7000 at one point, but in the end, we both left the table with $4000 total. Enough to buy 4 raffle tickets.

Needless to say, we didn't win anything-- our luck was dry that night.
But-- I did have a bunch of:

Which was my favorite part. We purposely sat next to the dance floor so we could see the weirdo's boogie after a few drinks.
We were not disappointed.

My Dr.Pepper left me quite wild for the evening. See, who needs alcohol anyway. We chair danced to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and called it an evening.
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We also had Adrienne take a proper picture while we were all:

Two parties and two photo shoots in two days leaves me feeling a bit like Paris Hilton.

I have not sat down in 4 days.

I feel like I am on fast forward.

Today, among other things-- I had to come up with dessert for our church Christmas party. I decided to make:

I mean, we're in Texas Y'all.

They were fun to make, and even though they were a bit hokey-- I thought they were cheerful.

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Now, this party we went to,

it was just plain fancy!

It was one of the fanciest parties I have ever been to!

There were yards and yards of flowing fabrics, gathered in the middle of the ceiling which cascaded down to the wall. There were large glass vase centerpieces and real china. My only complaint was trying to keep an eye on my boys and their haphazard drinking--

The food and the music was extra fancy too--- but my boys preferred to play shadow puppets:

We put on a whole show by one of the lights that was behind one of the many panels of fabric.

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And of course, the coveted visit with:

Can you tell that Benny just feels a little bit anxious.

i've always been a fan.

for a good, homemade Christmas cookie.
Guess what we are making tomorrow. Again!

i looked out the window, and what did I see?

Jeff is so clever!

He may not look it, but he really has some pretty crafty ideas. (He is the person who picked out the wall color in the living room, kitchen, and dining room.) Last month, while cruising through World Market, he threw out the idea of giving out fancy popcorn in snappy red and white boxes instead of the traditional Christmas cookie.

I added the green ribbon, and voila! Now, that's what I call teamwork.

Today, I popped--

and I popped--

and I popped--

12 bags of microwave popcorn! (Ben helped me with that, he thought he was so special.)
I borrowed a fancy little recipe from my friend Kirstin which I can now recite from heart since I had to whip up 8 batches in a row.

With our buttery hands, Ben and I stuffed the 20 boxes and tied each one:

(where is Jeff now?!)

I loved the spunky play on:
And, as if that were not enough-- I spent my afternoon crafting homemade picture tags lined with silver glitter and mounted on gold paper. Okay-- enough is enough!
And now, I am heading to bed at 7:30. Night-night.

(not-so) Fancy Christmas Corn

3 quarts (or 12 cups) of popped popcorn

1 C sugar

1/2 C butter (one stick)

1/4 light corn syrup

1/4 t baking soda

1/2 t vanilla

food coloring optional

Combine sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, let it boil for 2 minutes until golden in color. Stir in baking soda and vanilla (and food coloring if desired). Pour over popcorn and mix. Lay out on a baking sheet to let cool. Break apart into pieces and enjoy.

homespun christmas.

For someone who is only slightly in the Christmas spirit this year, I have been questionably obsessed with creating ornaments and embracing the whole "vintage Christmas" mantra.

I know that it is rude and possibly bad luck to post pictures of gifts for others on your blog, but I was so charmed by a few that I created today-- I couldn't help but share.

My sister has two very handsome cats, who's names are Zip and Scout.
Today, I decided to print out a few copies of their faces and make some old-fashioned chenille stemmed figurines out of them-- and then just hook the top for a kitchy ornament to hang on their tree.

Zips party hat just makes me all happy inside.

These ornaments are so simple to make, you just need to purchase some chenille stems, cut and twist to make arms and legs-- or a tail. Use a photo of a loved pet-- or a favorite friend. Embellish with charms, ric rac, ribbon, or buttons!
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About two years ago, I came across a blog with the cutest idea for ice skate ornaments made with large, sliver paperclips. (she even included a pattern to print out for the cutting.) I thought they were adorable, and just seemed right up my alley. Today I found out that they were quite easy too, I turned out about 8 in an hour!

Long, long ago-- when I was not much older than a year and a half old-- I made a special little baby Jesus ornament in Sunday school (nursery) which included a tiny plastic baby wrapped in gauze and nestled down in a Spanish moss filled egg crate cup. My mom still has the original, so we decided to replicate it.

I think they all turned out divine!
Not bad for an ol' Scrooge, eh?

And I know I promised a story about Jeff and the Trump plane, so gather round.

Jeff and his Captain had just flew into Laguardia airport in New York (or is it New Jersey?). After the family on board had taken the courtesy van to the airport, (they make them park way out there.) Jeff and the Captain started cleaning up the airplane. After a while, the power went out and they realized that something on the airplane had just broken and needed to be fixed. It was so cold that evening that they decided to drain the lav, and remove all of the beverages from the cabin because they didn't want anything to freeze in the night. After they had completed that, they called to find out if they could get a ride to the airport in the courtesy van-- just as they had called the Trump airplane pulled up right next to them. About 20 courtesy vehicles and a cop made their way to the Trump plane and back to the airport, still leaving Jeff and his Captain behind! It took forever for them to catch a ride, since Trump was top priority and they had to wait forever in a freezing cold airplane. Poor guy!

chocolate jimmies and red hots.

Today was eaten up with last minute touches concerning my Christmas:

It's all about the details.

This year I am extra pleased with my fireplace garland, it's sturdy boughs have become home to four new vibrant feathered friends.

After school, the first round of Christmas cookies for the season made their way out of our oven.
But, I had to have an excuse to use my new:
In hot pursuit for these little gems sent me to a fabulous new cake decorating shop that I had no idea existed. Forget paying $12 in the grocery store-- I scored these for a record $3. (Thank you Sarah the Duchess.) .
Here, Ben shows off his:
And, since I had chocolate jimmies, I decided to make an Emily original. Here she is:


I think she's sweet.
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Well, she ought to be-- since the new motto in our house is:

That is oh so very tongue in cheek-- but that cookie looks pretty perfect to me.

Tomorrow-- darlings, I will tell you the shenanagans concerning Jeff and the Trump airplane. Chaos!