The Aftermath

Holy Moly! Where do I even begin (with this paragraph and my clean up.) As I ponder the need to write down a few thoughts to help clean my head, Lillian is appropriately saying "uh oh" and "big much mess Mama" over and over from her room. Should I go see what has happened-which likely will result in me never finishing this post (the list of drafts on my blogger site is kinda comical) or do I just continue to live in mommy denial as I have been for the past few days?

Christmas is over. All the preparation and anticipation and thought and scrambling and shopping and decorating and wrapping and discussing and dressing and cleaning and EATING has come to an end. We had such warm fun moments with our families and lots of friends. We laughed and really reflected on our abundant blessings. I chilled out and was not as much of a control freak as I usually am. We had lots of families and kids over and I really enjoyed myself. I reminded myself often of my very dear friend who is battling colon cancer and all the military families who apart due to war. I read this blog post a few times that my friend Arianne shared with me. And while your head and heart tell you one thing, the complete chaos and clutter still creep in.

My house is completely and utterly disgusting. In less than a week of togetherness it is like I am standing outside my life looking in. We have not made our beds in days. There is a gooey unknown substance all over my fridge. Presents and toy parts are EVERYWHERE. My make up and hair dryer stay out all strewn because I am trying to get ready while rushing to help someone with something. The laundry situation is beyond scary. I could not tell you the last time my kids took a bath or the last time I brushed Lillian's hair. Now, I totally know we are not discussing world peace, or ending hunger, but still...I just look around and think in my busy life "how will I ever catch back up?" Maybe I should just sell the house as is and start over :)
The kids did beauty shop with me this morning and now we are "hiding" up in the bonus room watching movies. I am going with the close your eyes and savor these moments approach despite the need to figure it all out. All my jeans are tight, and is that not the worst feeling ever? I know I should be at the gym, but Tori and Dean on demand with Moose Munch has just been so much more appealing.

Tonight I am feeding and caring for five homeless moms and their children with my fabulous Covenant Group at church. Am certain God has put me in that place to snap me out of my selfish sinful complaining. At least I have a house to destroy with Christmas fun. At least we are all healthy and together. At least we have money in the bank and family to share the holiday with.

Monday we will take down all the decorations and the tree (so sad) and get ready for all that 2012 has in store for us. For now I am going to continue with the mommy blinders and enjoy my 2 and 4 year old little loves. Because, next year at this time I will have a 3 and 5 year old and that just sounds so OLD.

Christmas Day

Here they come!

Wii!!! Thanks Aunt Milly

I gave Joe a painting of our first townhouse; 2119 Fairview

Look Sissy, Santa ate the cookies!

The destruction

yummy breakfast casserole

The beloved orange rolls

Joe and Harrison doing his construction kit

We had a really nice Christmas day. The kids slept past 8am (nothing short of a Christmas miracle), they tore through their presents much faster than I anticipated, we had a delish homemade breakfast, napped and stayed in our jammies until 5pm.
For Christmas dinner we had the Bedfords over. I wish I had taken pics of the meal. I was quite happy with all my selections. Here are a few recipes I made:
balsamic glazed pork
shallot and prosciutto green beans
PW mashed potatoes
Paula Deen hot crab dip
and of course Sister Shubert's Parker House rolls

Christmas Eve festivities

Aunt Milly and the kids spreading reindeer food out on the front lawn

Christmas Eve service with 4 kids (makes me tired just typing it.)

Pomegranate Sparkler

Lills and Carly

This is the last pic of Harrison for the night. He did not feel well so Joe took him home. Thanks goodness because he threw up shortly after. No reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas as a family this year!

Lillian helping set up Santa's cookies

Maybe I don't like the way unwashed carrots taste after all

Rudolph enjoyed the carrots!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Seasonal Chic Christmas Card

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View the entire collection of cards.

Polar Express in The Smoky Mountains

Aunt Milly flew in from Texas to go with us to the mountains for a few days.

Once we arrived at the cabin, the main attraction was the three dogs that stayed on the porch. Oreo, Charcoal and Bella were honorary family members (my mom even bought them treats at the store).

Lillian picked up the pool stick and said "daddy, I am going to own this place." Made me laugh out loud.

Lillian with Nona

Papa loving on his two favorite little people

Opening gifts with lots of "help."

Our grocery list. Note the "lots" next to wine and beer :)

Harrison opening up his new scooter from Nona and Papa

close your eyes and hold out your hands

A Bitty Baby!

my mother is the resident Trader Joe's expert

our view

who needs presents when you have a fun aunt and a box?!?

zoooooom

Lillian feeding "Bitty" dinner

can you tell he had two daughters?

going for a hike

Harrison got in lots of scooter time since he could ride around, and around, and around the downstairs

peppermint whoopie pies

ranch chex mix

who better to build legos with than an engineer

Aunt Milly making sugar cookie dough

Lillian licked her hand so much that the sprinkles started sticking to her hands. Nice, am sure all the people we gave cookies to would love this!

Ready for The Polar Express

ha ha ha!

family dinner, HLP looks thrilled!

Lillian picking her nose on Santa's lap

The Golden Ticket

Hot Chocolate Cheers

we were all drenched. it monsoon rained on us, but we still had a great time

Santa giving Harrison his bell from the sleigh when we got to the North Pole

I got my bake on. And now my pants are quite tight.

Belle

King Aunt Milly and the Princess. I love my sister enough to not post the pics of them dancing together at the ball. I will save them for bribery purposes only.