Christmas Hangover

Anyone else in a haze of a Christmas hangover? I feel like I can't catch up but LUCKILY tomorrow starts a four day weekend for this girl. Icannotwaitandamsoexcited!

We had a great Christmas. My mom, dad, sister and cousins came to visit. JM's parents, sister, her bf and dog also brought a little Christmas cheer our way. Unfortunately, J's cold caught up with him and he was notinthebestspirits on Christmas day. As in, he cried and slept most of the day. Scratch that, all of the day. Poor guy.

I got JM the Michael Jackson Experience for Wii. We had so much fun with this. Go out and get it if you have a Wii. You will thank me later. My cousin, a straight laced 46 year old engineer, was far from the stereotypical MJ fanatic, but his dance moves put us all to shame. Seriously, so. much. fun!

If you know me IRL, then you know that although I think my house is small bit "above" a starter home, it lacks greatly in "living" space (but does make up for it a bit with 3 huge brs). We have a tiny kitchen, a fairly small living room and a table that seats 4. To say I LOVED having 12 people in my house while managing a crawling baby, 2 dogs, cooking food and trying to keep things picked up could be a stretch. But, when I think back to how J's first Christmas was spent with all of his immediate family, I just can't help but thank God that they are all still here (albeit driving me crazy) and that we will always have these memories to cherish. Something about pushing an 8lb baby out of your body makes you sentimental, I guess...

However, I am fairly convinced that I am going to go to WI for Christmas next year. I just have to get JM on board :-)

I realize without pics this is a boring post, but I can not currently find my camera. Boo. More to come at a later date.

I am off for the weekend and ready for a new year. I swear I am going to get down to a size 4 this year. Only 2.5 sizes to go :-) Ha.

S

Seriously

Seriously, I made this today and have just cracked up: Elf Yourself. Doesn't take much to amuse me.

Christmas is Saturday. Stop. The. World. Where did this year go? How is it possible that in 6 weeks my sweet baby will be 1. A toddler. So sad.

I had dinner last night with some of my sorority sisters. They are some of the smartest, prettiest and fun girls that I could ask for. Although my sweet soulmate, S, could not make it, I was glad that my kindred spirit, Rocco, was there! We have an evil streak in us that try as we may to fight, just keeps coming out. Rocco is going to be a lawyer next year and I could NOT be prouder. She is gorgeous (ok, so I am not so proud of her for that. More like jealous. 5"9". AND skinny. Pour salt on the wound, really). Seriously.

Can I just throw out there that if a certain friend of mine marries a certain man she is currently dating, their monogram would be "ASS"? No joke. Hilarious. Makes. my. days. seriously.

I was sitting on the couch with my mom yesterday (I work super close to home, so I eat lunch there every day) eating lunch, watching Las Vegas (sigh, Josh Duhmel I love you). Anyways, after my lean cuisine, I went to get a cookie. Seriously, my mom brought like 3 containers of frosted sugar cookies, fudge, cottage cheese cookies (delish- totally will post recipe one day). Can you say YUM and at least 10 pounds weight gain WITH ME! So, as I went for the cookie my mom says "and you wonder why you haven't lost that much weight this month" Seriously. Seriously. Seriously. Ouch. Truth hurts. I ate the cookie, but had a salad for dinner. Trade off.

Anyways, I really don't have much to say today besides the fact that I am happy that tomorrow is my "Friday" at work, I have Monday off, Tuesday kicks off a month of jury duty, I got enrolled in the traffic diversion program (which expunges said ticket off my record for the low cost of $150, some classes and volunteering) and I am going to look into bonding at my dentist. Anyone done this? I heard it helps with stains and smooths your teeth. Tempting, oh so tempting.

Congratulations Kate!

My older sister, Kate, has had a rough year. I am not going to go into particulars, but let's just say, she has a lot of willpower and drive in her. I cannot explain how proud of her I am and that, in all the many hardships that have been thrown her way, she has proven to herself that she can do anything she puts her mind to.

On Saturday, JM, Baby J and I travelled to Chicago to see my sister graduate from Paramedic school. She had to take a full year of courses and ride on an ambulance, collecting different types of "calls" (trauma, cardiac, etc). She officially got her last call on Friday night and is a graduate of the program. The program only had 22 people, a lot of who did not make it. Kate's brilliance in the medical field and persistance to succeed was the key to her graduation.

Congrats, Kate. We love you and are so proud of you!

Santa- Hilarious pics to follow

J had his first trip to see Santa yesterday....

WARNING: These pics may result in extreme laughing and hilarity at the expense of my child. And, believe me, I'm ok with that. These might be the funniest (and most treasured) pics I have to date- ha!

Fun Giveaway at Babbling Abby!

I don't know if you all read Abby's blog, but you should! She is great- a mom, teacher, student and wife...I honestly don't know how she does it!

I met Abby in college (Go Cats!) as we were both in the "Gamma Chi" sorority our Junior years. Fun times! I found her on the internet and love to stalk, er, read about her life daily! Plus, she has an adorable boy...and I am a sucker for adorable boy babies! :-)

Abby is giving away 3 adorable headbands to keep you warm and STYLISH this winter. They come in white, black and purple, with a cute flower on them. She always says "no hat head" is included with these bad boys! PLUS, she got them from a girl at her church- so you KNOW that she supported a great cause.

I am DYING to get one and putting it at the top of my letter to Santa :-) Go visit www.babblingabby.blogspot.com and enter for your chance!

Good luck!

Sallie

Random Musings

1. I may have gotten up to go to 6 am boot camp (go me!).

2. At said boot camp, at the end of class my instructor may have asked me if I was ok- she hadn't seen my face that red in a long time. I. wanted. to. drag. my. huffing. and. puffing. self. home. or in a small hole. Listen, at least my fat butt is there...and I am still alive (red face and all).

3. My son is so sick. His nose is stuffed up, running, he's coughing, hacking and crying for no reason. The hardest thing I had to do today was leave him at home. Granted, my husband and MIL are going to be with him, but still. So sad to see him so sick.

4. Speaking of sick, I have never seen a snot trail like that in his crib this morning. I realize its a TMI, but seriously, gross, gross, gross.

5. And that snot in his belly? Yep, threw that up on mom. That will show me to try to go to work.

6. I got all Christmas cards addressed last night. AND my sweet husband helped. He may be trying to sweeten me up for something- jury's still out.

7. Speaking of jury- I got called for JURY DUTY. Seriously? So, those in Fayette Co.- if you have committed a crime that calls for a jury trial- PLEASE plead guilty. I really don't want to participate in this civic duty. I mean, really? $12.50 a day, listening to horrible stories about things I turn off the news to avoid? No thanks, I'll pass, thankyouverymuch.

8. Boys, Boys, Boys. All my sweet preggo RL (real life) friends seem to be having boys. I can't tell you how exciting it is that J is going to have a group of friends to grow up with. I am about 50% positive (ha) that they will be taking over a frat in approx. 18 years. Watch out, UK. That's all I am saying.

9. Have you been to Pink Lou Lou's blog today? She may be my new fave read. I totally am cracked up by her posts and I am 100% sure she can read my mind. I mean, have I not mentioned how I am dying for Latisse but can't afford the $100 a month forever to maintain the luscious lash look? I am totally stealing the falsies tips she generated.

10. Update on my trouble with the law: I have entered into a Traffic Diversion program. With a one hour class, my proof of insurance, $150 money order and a mere 4 hours of community service, I will have the ticket expunged from my record...but the shame lives on....

11. I went out last week and bought 4 pints of Graeter's ice cream, a 6 pack...of cones and some chocolate topping for the bargain price of $20. So. Sad. To. Lose. My. Fave. Ice. Cream. Place. Hoping for a comeback though!

12. I would like to go on the record that I have eaten at least a cup each night since last Friday. Maybe that is why my face was so red and I was huffing and puffing through boot camp this morning? Lesson learned: Eat badly = fat butt = embarrassing moments at boot camp. I am really going to try this week. And by try, I mean I am not going to eat the entire batch of chocolate chip cookies I made last night and told myself I was going to bring to work (which I did not).

13. I may have gotten my mom the funniest gift ever for Christmas. Seriously. Hilarious. I will share as soon as I give it to her.

14. Can we all please pray for my SIL? She is the sweetest, most beautiful person and as she is approaching her 29th (er...) birthday (again), she really wants to find that special person (she may have him, we'll see!), get married and have children. I am really praying that all her dreams come true, because, well, she deserves it. I love you, C!

15. Finally, I am so thankful for the delicious eggs and turkey bacon my hubs cooked me this morning. After 2 cups of coffee this morning, consider my appetite supressed. Score 1 for me.

I did warn you this was random. Have a great day!

Christmas Traditions

Christmas is my most favorite holiday! I love the snow, the cold (although I am still missing the beach!) and general happy feelings I am overwhelmed with at this time of year.



Having Baby J this year makes a very special Christmas and I can't wait to tell him all about Christmas, Baby Jesus and of course, Santa Claus. I hope he loves everything about this holiday as much as me!



The K household doesn't really have a lot of traditions yet. Honestly, between my family being in WI and JM's about an hour away, we just split our time and chug through. I know once J is older, we will create traditions of our own, but for now, I will let you know my most cherished traditions that I grew up with and hope that they continue in my family!



So, here we go, Sallie's Christmas Tradition Countdown:



1. My dad's birthday is on Christmas eve. Every year, we go shopping. I know that this sounds crazy, heading out on Christmas eve to shop, but honestly every one is in such a GREAT mood in the stores and we just have a blast. Plus, it is the only day in the entire year that my dad shops. He only buys presents for my mom. The presents are usually: An entire outfit and perfume. Occasionally he throws in something different, piano sheet music or something of the like, but the other 2 are his tried and trues.

2. Breakfast at Hardees. Random, I know, but holds special memories for our family, as my dad used to take my sister and there when he would let us tag along to sit in his hunting stands. Hardee's was big back in the day and although they are a bit harder to find now, we still always end up here.

3. After shopping, we go to lunch. In my days of me living in WI, that would be going to Chili's, because it was my sister's favorite. We used to go to Chi Chis (A Mexican Restaurant) but they closed I think in the early 90s, so Chili's it was.

4. We are allowed to open one gift on Christmas eve. Always pajamas from Mom. You have to wear the pajamas that night so Santa will come. Yes, I am still 28 and yes, I still get pajamas. Except now I pick them out myself. And I added a super cute set for J to the list this year. This is a tradition I plan to keep up!

5. Christmas morning we open presents. We always hand out all the presents, then each take turn to open each one so everyone can oooohhh and ahhh over them.

These are just a few of our traditions- what are yours? Let me know some favorites so I can maybe use them as J gets older!