“Oh my”, indeed.
Jeepers where has the month gone? (My inner 90 year old self just came out with that snazzy ‘Jeepers’).
Christmas has come and gone and here I am pouting in my craft room corner shoving truffles down my throat thinking, “And I didn’t even get to start the 99 1/2 Christmas projects I had planned” Seriously.. I had piles and oodles of stuff I wanted to do and time slipped away. Again. I am just always doing SO much. I like to keep busy, but I keep myself TOO busy at times. And with that comes my new years goal..
SIMPLIFY MY LIFE.
I am very much in a ‘happy spot’ with my DT’s.. family life, etc. BUT.. I need to work on removing the ‘life clutter’ and remind myself I do NOT need to be super mom (wait.. who am I kidding? Yes.. I do! lol) I don’t need to be a ‘professional everything’ as my friends like to call me.. and I need to learn to not add so much to my plate. My plate is overflowing onto the floor and I am slipping in my own mess at times! (Especially around holidays).
Anyhow, time to get you all caught up and such! First off.. the EP blog hop winner.. yes.. over a week late to posting this, I am SO sorry! I usually email winners and not post, but I get emails/messages asking about hop winners.. so.. I will be sure to post them to the blog from now on.. like a good girl. Go on.. throw me a treat! *wags tail*
So, the winner of the EP kit of their choice is….. Myoriah!!! She said, “Cute projects as always. Love the gift bag you did. Can’t wait to see what you do next. Thanks for chance to win.”.
*throws confetti*
Yay! (email has been sent, Myoriah!) Thank you ALL who took time to join our hop and comment! I know all us EP DT members appreciate the love and sweet comments from you!
Moving on to CHRISTMAS! AKA: The holiday that I ALWAYS say I am going to ‘scale back’ and I ALWAYS manage to get ‘worse’ and ‘worse’ every year. Santa needs to get whacked upside the head over here! I have no shame in saying that we play up Santa and loads of gifts over here. It’s how my family does it and that’s that. (of course we also focus on family, etc. as well). We had a fantastic Christmas day with my mom and brother here. She recently split from her jerk of a husband and couldn’t afford a Christmas this year so we ‘adopted them’ lol. Can I just say it’s nearly IMPOSSIBLE to shop for a 13yo boy? (note to self, do not let my sweet little son age). Thankfully, he needed shoes, clothes, and books so that made up most of his gifts. It was nice to see them smile.
And of course my little monsters made out like bandits! Seeing the pure joy and excitement gets me all sorts of crazy! It’s like a drug for me. That’s why I do all these parties, etc. Their excitement just FEEDS me! Seriously, I don’t need a thing for Christmas, just my family and their smiles does it for me! (although a NICE espresso machine would be amazetacular)
Here’s just a few pictures of my kids on Christmas day!
- Here they are so patiently waiting to open gifts from Santa! Love these kiddos!
- My little guy got some Legos! LOTS of Legos here this year….
- I wasn’t kidding about the Legos.. lol. This is just part of my younger daughter’s pile.
- We even had Lego head buckets! Aren’t these awesome?
- Watch out for the Hulk!
- Love this photo of my girls chit chatting and opening their gifts
It’s very rare if they get along, lol. A Christmas miracle right there!
I hope you all had a fabulous holiday!!! Mine was filled with LOTS of joy, family, food, hugs and kisses from my kiddos and coffee.
Moving on to YESTERDAY! My sweet, sweet boy turned five. How this happened so SOON.. I have no idea. Really.. life does pass by in a flash, doesn’t it? I love watching my children grow and seeing what amazing people they are becoming, but it really is bitter sweet. *sigh*
This little guy was born with a hole in his lung.. had surgery when he was two days old. It was nearly a week before I could even hold him.. and going on two weeks old before I could bring him home. It was so tough for my husband and I. I know some parents have had it much worse and I am SO thankful it was a ‘short’ NICU stay for him, but it was hard. On my way out of the hospital we passed right by the NICU where he was and I LOST it. How was I going home WITHOUT my baby? I would wake up during the night to ump milk and just CRY beacuse I should have been holiding him for those feedings.
I am so thankful all went well and he is a healthy and VERY happy little boy. My 5 year old little man!
He has got to be one of the most outgoing, fun, caring children I know. He has such a deep soul and I hope he never loses that. I have no doubt he will be an amazing man someday!
(Pictures were taken just a few days ago!)
And here I am today. The crazy month of December is coming to an end and the new year is almost here. I can not wait to see what 2013 has in store for my family and I! I hope you ALL have an amazing new year. Much health and happiness to all of you! And as a blogger and crafter, I hope to keep you all entertained and inspired! I will try my hardest not to get boring, lol.
And in case you all were wondering.. it’s snowing in my back yard right now.. but not my front. My socks don’t match.. I am wearing grandma slippers and a leopard print Snuggie FREEZING while sucking down ice water (I am a big time ice chewer.. horrible habit!) and at least 4 times while typing this blog post I have Googled hair styles and shades of red to show my hair dresser next week and have had probably a total of 3 minutes of conversation with.. my cat.
Yeah. What was that I said about simplifying? lol.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, FRIENDS!!!!!!
About Happy Life, Crafty Wife
First off thanks so much. I have emailed you back. Second you crack me up girl. You are so funny.
I love the pictures of your family. Oh yes, and I remember those Lego days and stepping on them in the middle of the night with bare-feet. Sometimes I would give anything for those days again. You definitely turn around and they are all grown up.
If you learn how to simplify please let me know. In the meantime get to crafting gal I want to see what you are making.
O.K. no pressure here. The deciding of hair color and style is more important than crafting any day.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
Jeepers (sending the ‘snazzy’ back your way…), but how AWESOME are you? Wait….rhetorical question. You are beyond awesome – as a mom, daughter, crafter, wife – the works. I’ve sung (somewhat off-key, sadly – not much of a voice) your praises before, and will continue to do so. Glad I found your site; glad you’re so generous in sharing your crafty-genius; glad you write/do things that brighten my days and make me smile – lots!
Happy New Year to you and your family!
carol
There is definitely a philosophy for having goals and also just always wanting to do more. I think it’s a good thing to have more to do than time to do it. As long as it’s not bringing you down (YOU? Definitely not!) or causing problems with relationships (yelling at everyone because you’ve got so much to do is not OK when it’s your choice to be busy – this is something I’ve realized over time and it’s part of why I didn’t get Christmas cards out this year. I knew what was most important for me to get done, got most of it done and let everything else slide and was a much nicer mom/wife because of it. I’m sure that’s not an issue for you;-)!)
Thanks for taking the time to share! Wishing you a very happy and as busy as you need it to be 2013!
Your pictures are BEAUTIFUL!!! What camera do you use???
Love how bright and cheery your wrapped packages are! REALLY festive!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Wishing you health, strength, and happinees in this new year! Thanks for all you do to include us in your daily persuits. Love your inspiration and creativity. Thanks for being willing to share so much of yourself with others. Love the pics of your children they are gorgeous and handsome. I hope this association is as beneficial for you as for your readers. I, for one, enjoy your site immensely.
Fun photos! We’re big Lego fans here too: Star Wars for my son, and Harry Potter – now Avengers – for my daughter. Why there always has to be a movie tie-in for them? – I don’t know!
Happy New Year!
Thanks for sharing fun stuff – I think simplifying would be a great goal for 2013.
From one redhead to another – there is no such thing as simple. Simple is boring and we are NOT boring!
Just stumbled over here from doodlebug (after a slight glitch cos they didn’t link your site correctly). LOVE EET! I know what you mean by crazy holidays. I lost it this year because of the pressure, I finally cracked. My neice and nephew are half grown and leaving soon. My family is impossible to shop for & we were short on cash and trying to save up for a baby. But after all the hysterics (me not them!) it was a great Christmas with all the families.
Your photos are awesome. Happy birthday to that handsome young man. My story could be yours as my son also was in the NICU for two weeks with lung problems which they never could figure out the cause of. He was full term and healthy weight but could not breathe on his own. I remember sitting in the chair just outside the elevator doors when I was discharged, not able to fathom leaving the hospital that night with empty arms. Thinking about it again makes me cry even now. I would call the NICU nurses every time I got up to pump and I’m sure they were thinking I was crazy, but I had to know. Today he is an amazing young 13 year old boy who brings the brightest personality to our family. And 13 isn’t so bad
!
Tamara, Finally, time to stop by and see what’s new! Love your family photos! Girl, those kids are amazing! The girls are gorgeous and that boy of yours, well, he’s so cute and bless his sweet heart! So happy he’s healthy! And look at you! Taking on so much, but still keeping that sense of humor we have all grown to love and respect! Your mom has my prayers that things will go well for her in 2013. It’s so funny because right now it’s almost 11 pm and I’m all cuddled up next to a warm fire with my schnoodle and wrapped in my leopard-printed Snuggie!!! The kids bought it for me a few years back and it’s the best thing ever invented!! My husband laughed at it, but he doesn’t know what he’s missing!!! Thank you for all the wonderful inspirational projects you have shown us in the past. Thank you for all the times you have made me smile and made me laugh! I am so looking forward to the new year and what you will bring! May all your wishes and prayers be answered. Hugs to you from Debra & Elvis the Schnoodle