Christmas Eve

It is an hour and a half from Christmas Eve, and there are a few very excited people in this house.

My daughter, 4 years old, is very excited.  The girl lives with the "best day ever" attitude with every day that greets her.  With tomorrow being Christmas Eve, it is definitely going to be the best day ever, until Christmas, of course.

My son, 1 year old, is very excited.  He sees the number of presents under the tree growing.  He sees his big sister telling him that the big one is for him.  He wrapped the present he got for his Papa, and he can't wait to help him open it.  He is waiting for his best day ever and hoping that Santa brings him a woo-woo truck.

Me.  I love the look on my kids faces when they are excited.  I love making a big meal for my family.  I love trying out new recipes. I also love that there will not be any more elf on the shelf posts on Facebook for another year.

My puppy, 1 year old, is very excited.  Why wouldn't she be, though?  She's getting presents and laps to sit in.

My husband, is very excited, for Christmas to be over.  I think the stress gets to him more this time of year than any other.  Hopefully in future years, he'll be better because we won't have just moved.

So, with the excitement bubbling over in our house, Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

Looking Back

So, I installed Timehop a little while ago and it is making me quite emotional, happy and sad.

5 years ago this week, I was put on bedrest while pregnant with Jade.  I worked my last day in the corporate world 5 years ago.  And now, I'm preparing to go back.

4 years ago, Jade was getting ready to celebrate her first Christmas.  It was such an exciting time!

3 years ago, I just experienced my second pregnancy loss.  I lost this one at our annual trip to Hollywood Studios to see the Osbourne Lights.  Of course, this makes me sad for a couple of reasons.  The obvious, but also the fact that we are no longer in Orlando and won't be doing the annual trip to see the Osbourne lights anymore.

2 years ago, I was pregnant with Maxwell and getting ready to meet that sweet boy.

1 year ago, we were having Maxwell's first Christmas, and we were having our first Christmas away from Orlando, in our new city, San Antonio.

That's how long I've been on Facebook, 5 years.  It has been a very scary, exciting, and terrific 5 years. We've had a bit of a bumpy road, but every bump has been worth it, getting us here to this wonderful point in our lives.  We have two beautiful children and a wonderful home.  Christmas is here and we're spending it in our new home, another exciting adventure!

Christmas is coming!

December 5, 20 days before Christmas.  My Christmas cards are out.  All of the shopping for those outside of my house is done. In most people's standards, I am doing great. But, I feel like I am so far behind.

We moved 3 weeks ago.  My house still has boxes all over the place.  I haven't finished the shopping for my kids yet, and presents from others are showing up, making the clutter of boxes even worse and growing.

I still haven't finished shopping for my family.  Plus, the demands for treats are starting to come around. Jade's school wants 2-4 dozen cookies.  Jeremy wants me to cook in a chili cook-off.  I have to make boxes of treats for all of Jeremy's co-workers.

But, that's not all. I have what every parent has to go through right now ... Christmas pageant time.  Jade has a Broadway showcase and two school programs all in the same week.

But, that's still not all.  My health hasn't gotten any better.  6 months ago, I had to get a filling, and after that, my tooth hasn't been the same.  I just found out this week, that that dentist cracked my tooth while doing the filling, so now I have to get a crown.  And, the heart problems continue.  I have a follow-up with my cardiologist to talk about the medication that is making me feel worse.

But, what I'm most excited about is that my husband's office is having a Christmas party!  I love getting all dressed up and spending time with adults. This is going to be one of the most exciting nights in a long time.  It's been 7 years since our last Christmas party.

So, Christmas is in less than 3 weeks.  I love Christmas.  My kids are so excited and it excites me to see that. I just hope that I can make it there!

It's fall!

I'm not a big fan of fall.  My favorite seasons are spring and summer, but fall means the coming of a great holiday season (fall and winter's redeeming points). And our fall had kicked off pretty well.

Halloween was a huge success this year.  The kids painted pumpkins and Jade even helped carve the big pumpkin this year.  The family dressed up,  Jade was batman, Maxwell was robin, Jeremy was the joker, and I was Harley Quinn.  We even went to our new neighborhood to trick or treat, to meet some of our neighbors.  Maxwell was a pro trick our treater.  He wasn't scared at all.

Now, the move begins.  We have a month to get out of this house and into the new one.  Thanksgiving is on the way.  The weather is getting cold (which I could do without). Then comes Christmas and the little ones' birthdays. A lot of fun is on the way.

Will I survive busy season? We hope so! 

We're officially Texans

We officially bought a house in San Antonio.  I'm pretty excited about it.  The house is very nice and I am so excited for my family.

Now for the awful process of moving.  The next month is going to be hectic and crazy, but at the end, we will be in our new house and happy and comfortable.

Jade is excited to have her room that she can pick her own room color.  She loves the idea of not having to climb the stairs anymore.

Maxwell keeps asking to go to the "house" whenever we go anywhere.

I just can't believe that we are officially calling Texas our home for a very Long time.  I don't exactly fit in here.  I just hope that I can find some good friends for my family and we can be accepted and live here happily.

So much going on

So much has been going on in the past month, I don't know where to begin.

Jade started soccer a few weeks ago. She was so excited to be playing and to have papa as her coach. Then came her first game.  It was unusually cold that day.  And she started out okay.  But then, someone stole the ball from her.  She broke down.  Tears everywhere, screaming like she just lost her best friend.  I couldn't get her to go back and play the rest of the game.

Second game wasn't much better.  She didn't even want to go on the field. She used to love soccer, and she still loves practice, but she wants nothing to do with the games.  She says she wants to stop and do gymnastics instead.

Maxwell started dance class and he loves it! He won't dance with momma like he's supposed to, but he puts on the tutu and wiggles around the room.  He is so happy!
Other news coming soon, about our living situation and about my health, both with lots going on.

The first week of school

Jade started pre-k this week and she is so happy and so silly.  I am surprised by her every day.

On the first day, she came home and she said that her day was awesome.  Then, I asked her for details about her awesome day.  She said, "I don't think my teachers are very good. We didn't do any math today. " I had to explain to her that she would do math, but not every day, and explained that counting and learning numbers was math.  She was frustrated because she already knows her numbers and wants to add.

On the second day, she said it was so fun, but she couldn't understand why they couldn't go all day. She was so mad at these short days. I had to explain to her that the first week was short in order to let the kids get used to school. "But we were here last year.  We know the school. "

On the fourth day, she came home and said that she got to read the gingerbread boy book to the class.  She said that Ms. Tammy sat on the floor with the kids while she read the book to everyone.  I don't know if I believe it, but if it's true, I am so proud.  She does have a wild imagination, but she has been doing great with her reading.

So, week two starts Monday.  She is so excited and so am I. I am so proud of my little girl.  I can't believe how grown up she is getting.  I'm so not ready for them to grow up. I just want to hold on to them and keep them small.