A Clearance Christmas

Will and I had many laughs while we put up our oh so sad looking christmas tree.  I'm pretty sure it was a clearance Christmas tree from Dollar General a few years ago and it loves to express every bit of where it come from.  You can see right through it along with every iron rod.  We don't have enough ornaments currently, so only the front of the tree gets ornaments.  There is no topper and the lights don't go all the way to the bottom of the tree.  We really thought about getting another one but it really suits us just fine right now.  My mother will soon give me my other ornaments and then Will can take the Christmas themed cat toys he found in Mile's toy box, off the tree.

I love decorating the house for Christmas with Will but it just doesn't seem as epic as it always seemed when we were younger.  Instead of an all day event it took about twenty minutes.  I currently don't have any Christmas music to put on, and we just haven't stocked up our Christmas decor box enough to spare any to make outfits for ourselves while dressing the house.  I have made a promise to myself and Will that as soon as we start a family we will have a tree high enough that he has to lift our youngest up to put the angel on top and that we will indeed HAVE an angel to put on top.  We have just dubbed our current tree our ghetto tree however, with the lights and the presents underneath it still brings such a cozy feeling to our loveplex.

Miles did add a little something to the event and was well involved.  After he checked out the sheep in the stable and the branches, he found a comfy spot in the decor box.  His interest in the lighted-up nativity scene did remind me of the glow-in-the dark manger scene that Jenny, Erik, and I each got to put on our nightstands growing up.  I'm now on the look out to stock up my future family.

The boys at work.

Miles so interested in Baby Jesus

It's still so festive!

Will's attempt to gather more ornaments. 

Giving Thanks

When experiencing holidays with the Cousins, it's very important to take a minute to step back, take a breather, and give thanks.  We put five dogs, two babies, numerous grown-ups, and lots of food together and it gets a little chaotic.  It's always such a joy to have everyone together and I'm thankful for each person and the unique qualities they bring to complete the Cousin family.  This year, the little girls stole the show.  June has mistaken herself as Mimi's two year old mother so the day was full of photos and sometimes intervention.  

I missed my family on Thanksgiving and have discovered that homesickness is present even when you are not half way across the country.  However, in just a short time I will be surrounded by them and even the thought is so comforting.  

Throughout the day I kept reminding my husband how thankful I was for him.  At one point during the day I realized that though the focal point is giving thanks, we all have to remember WHO we are ultimately giving thanks to.  I loved the light it brought to Will's face as I listed the reasons why I give thanks for him everyday but soon realized why I get to even thank Will.  We both know that God has given us every opportunity to provide for ourselves and more importantly, he has given Will and I a lifetime of love and partnership together.  I have so many blessings that surround me and when I give thanks it's to God that protects my family and I everyday.  I'm pretty sure he is up there with the same smile on his face like my husband when we simply take a step back and say "Thank you."

Our day began with hustle bustle and didn't conclude until 48 hours later.  We had the Cousin Thanksgiving on Thursday and continued family festivities on Friday as Julie and I made a great debut on black Friday.  Our eight o'clock ETA ended up to be about 11 but we definitely missed the crowd.  We hit few stores but hit every section in each one.  The deals must have ended by the time we got there because we did not see what all the fuss was about.  That night, we had dinner reservations with a few friends that were in town for the holiday.  Will and I were able to see Eric who was one of our good friends in Arizona.  We had a great time re-connecting!  I was about done with fancy food at this point so I enjoyed some basic chicken strips and fruit.  

It's only a short few days until we get to give more thanks with my family.  It's very needed and I have a count down going.  

Thank you Jesus for blessing my life! I have a support group the size of Texas and a husband that treats me like a princess! I am able to continue my education and learn how to impact children!  You have provided us work to put food on the time and a roof over our heads!  

 June was right on Mimi's tail the whole day.  Sometimes hugs were mistaken as mauling.

                                             Introducing Mimi early to Thanksgiving football.

                                                                 June

                                                               Mama and Mimi

                                                       Junebug and Auntie Mae

                                                          Dance party with Grandma

                                               Zach and Julie's new puppy, Cooper.

                                                                Jules and I

A Good Day

With school projects under control, I set the computer aside and enjoyed a relaxing night.  I came home from work to a completely painted stairway and bathroom, completed by hubby lovin'.  A HUGE relief.  Then, I put on my homemaker hat and hung some decor.  The place looks great and I think Will is glad the nagging can stop :) He had a restful night filled with long hours of video games that he deserved.  As jealous as I am of his XBox because of the attention it gets, I found a treat that arguably was more relaxing than a shoot-em-up game.  Beauty and the Beast.  And.. it was on ABC family of all channels.  ABC Family's new motto is "a new kind of family" and premiers shows about pregnant teens.  I think it was necessary for them to play Beauty and the Beast to support those who have not let the old kind of family go yet.

I watched the movie from beginning to end and tried hard to sing along to the songs of my childhood.  I barely remembered the words but Belle sings it better anyway.  I tried explaining the plot to Will who wondered why I was enjoying myself in the least and it occurred to me that I as a kid, I never understood the specifics of Beauty and the Beast yet I still loved it SO much.  All I could really tell him was it was about a pretty girl who falls in love with a beast.  I enjoyed it in an entirely different way as a twenty three year old and discovered Walt Disney really knew what he was doin'.  Here are the things I discovered as a 23 year old watching Beauty and the Beast:

Mrs. Pots is portrayed as a Grandma yet as a four year old son.
Beauty falls in love with a giant animal
There is entire scene in a bar with lots of beer drinking
Chip is obviously the favored child and has a lot of neglected siblings.

Rather than list more nonsense- I need to focus on the Macy's Day parade.  My husband is still sleeping and I don't know how he is missing this.  Miles and I certainly aren't and are currently admiring the Rockettes exceptionality cute outfits this year.  TUNE IN!

Black Friday

Surprisingly enough, I have never tried to conquer Black Friday.  I do hear that it's worth it and I'm the first to suffer through crowds for a good deal but whenever the big day comes around it seems like such an obnoxious day to make yourself go through.  However, my sister-in-law were talking and we discovered we were both Black Friday virgins.  With Christmas gifts on our minds, we have decided we might join forces and step into the madness.  I would like to see if it's what everyone has hyped it up to be.  I seem to find deals on any day of the year so we'll see how we're feeling Friday morning at 6 AM.   Also, it seems to be like all electronic deals and there is nowhere else in our loveplex to fit ANOTHER TV.  So unless I want to mount a TV in our bathroom, I may end up skipping out once again this year.

I'll keep you posted :)

Today is pajama day at work today and I am extremely curious for how this is going to pan out.  See, 80 percent of the girls I work with already wear their pajamas to work everyday.  Perhaps they sleep in jeans and I will see them in real clothes today...? And considering what parents put their children in when going out in public, I'm curious to see what they put them in to sleep.  Hmmm.  Pajama day may end up looking like Hobo day.

To do: everything

I am perplexed.  A large portion of my to do list has been the same for a month.  I have not been doing much crossing off and fellow to-do listers know how frustrating this can be.  Some bullets included in the list are simple one-hour projects but still remain from weeks ago.  This is why: three things include painting.  My relationship with painting as changed from indifferent to loathing.  Partly because I hate putting my itchy painting clothes on but also because the setup/ cleanup process takes longer than the actual painting.  I have no excuses anymore though.  Today marks the beginning of my Thanksgiving break which means many things...
one) I have to get my to do list done.
two) the semester is sooo close to the end.
three) I can reunite with my old friends for a week.
By friends I mean the anchors/cast of the Today's Show and Kathie Lee and Hoda.  I have't hung out with them since Arizona so I am very excited to tune in from 7 till 11 for the next week.  :)
Today Kathie Lee and Hoda introduced a couple of their favorite things which inspired me to share my new favorite thing.  It's the best twenty dollars I have spent and hopefully my family will take this advice so they aren't found scrubbing the floors on their knees with volleyball pads on at the age of 70.

SWIFFER WETJET! It's fabulous.  Our house smelled fresh and clean after I was done with my first use and the floors looked considerably cleaner in my opinion.  You simply press a button, swipe, and it's sparkling.  A co-worker asked me if I was going to scrub the floors after snack the other day and after picturing scrubbing on my hands and knees, prying smashed cheese off the floor, I reluctantly said yes.  That was when I was introduced to the Swiffer Wet Jet.  Now, you can often see me scrubbing the toddler floor...even on cottage cheese days.  I really have no idea what my sister and mom have been thinking all these years.  Scrubbing floors has been introduced to me in a whole new way.

Nuisances

Since the duplex we are living in needed a little TLC when we moved in, there has been various maintenance men here fixing this and that.  I added to my "honey CALL list" when we discovered the heat upstairs didn't work.  The man came promptly but I've been noticing a trend...

Will works all day with lunch at noon.  However, he ALWAYS seems to be available when maintenance is coming over.  I came home yesterday afternoon after class to see Will following the heating man up and down the stairs describing every experience we have had with heat, offering his opinion about the problem, and simply just being a nuisance! My husband has this need to be a part of everything and I just have decided to laugh and feel for him a little.  The rare chance that maintenance shows up and I'm the only one here, I sit myself on the couch with a good show or book and let them do their thing.  My poor husband thinks everyone needs his help and expertise (?) and that must simply be exhausting.

If that wasn't enough for the heating man, Miles decided he needed to cement himself in the middle of the staircase so he can keep an eye on the man while he was upstairs and while he was downstairs.  So with Will following him up and down and tripping over a watchful cat, I think the heating man was glad he found a quick fix with the furnace. I don't know if this is a sign we need to have more company or if those two are just control freaks.  I feel good knowing that my position in this family is absolutely necessary and I'm glad I came home when I did so the heating man knew there was someone balancing these two boys out with some TV watching and distance.


On a side note, I saw this on The Today Show and I just think some toys are not supposed to be made "techy".  People just need to calm down about putting gadgets in EVERYTHING.
Creepy Barbie

Back with the program

There have been two major things that Will and I have been seeing how long we can go without.
A microwave and a camera.  This week we have given into both.  While the microwave will have no effect on my blog, having a camera again just may motivate me to make some entries!  Also, I felt like we weren't documenting our life and wouldn't have any young pictures to show our children.  Right now, I have only taken photos of miles and while he is a very handsome cat, he's not that photogenic.  So I'll spare you for now but stay tuned!

kids kids kids

I am getting a small taste of my future with half of my classes being spent with  4th graders and taking care of toddlers at work.  I have to say, I love every minute of it and I am so relieved I picked the right career choice for myself.  The tots at daycare have began running to me for hugs and reaching to me for comfort.  Although I am far from the care and love their mama's can provide them, I feel content knowing they are still being cared for and snuggled by me.

While at work yesterday, I received a frantic call and text from Will who was watching June.  By the time I had a chance to call him back he was attempting to turn a bath towel into pants for our little niece.  She had an accident and could not find extra clothes but luckily I had an idea of where extra clothes could be.  When I got home June was eating McDonald's chicken product, going commando underneath pajama bottoms with a fancy top, but was still loving every minute with Uncle Billy.

After Will's SHORT watch over June he now cannot understand why I would want to work in a daycare.  "No Rules" and "Softy" Uncle Billy was now threatening to send June straight to bed if she didn't eat her chicken nuggets.  I decided then that I needed to take control and Uncle Billy was exhausted.  When your concerned about a child not eating McDonald's mystery meat, I think your shift has ended.  I don't blame him since June has now discovered stalling and difference of opinion.  Oddly enough, Will may just be better with the sleeping and pooping of infants.

While Will has discovered the personality of a toddler, I have been discovering the ways of 4th grade.  It is apparent that I will not be teaching above the 2nd grade.  However, I love the experience I'm getting with two different age groups right now