Christmas

Okay, here is the awaited Christmas post! ha (I know, I know...probably not all that awaited, but I don't want to leave it out in the scheme of major events going on.)

We had a wonderful Christmas with lots of family time! Santa was BEYOND good to us! I won't show everything, but we are blessed to have gotten some new goodies.

On Christmas Eve, we spent time with Eric's family. It is extremely rare that the whole crew is together at one time (due to Eric's sister's boyfriend's kids not always being on the same schedule as everyone else), so I used my fancy DSLR to capture a picture of the group. Wow, wasn't that a mouthful!?! lmao And you can also tell how much the guys "love" to smile!?

The Padgett Family

Then we spent Christmas morning taking it easy at home while the girls spent the morning at their mom's house. We picked them up mid-afternoon and came back for food and presents with mom and my sister.

Jordan was pretty excited about EVERY gift

one of my favorite gifts (came from my sis) - 2 of our wedding pics matted with the burlap and lace we used to decorate the ceremony arbor - now we're just waiting on frames!

this is her "fake" surprise look - she knew what she was getting, we're just shocked she waited until Christmas to open it! ha

I had to include this pic of Emma because it matched her dad's shirt AND she is wearing those crazy panda onesie pajamas

and last, but not least - momma got a gift cert to one of our families fave spots - yummy fried chicken!

Reindeer Games

Strolling through Pinterest the other day, I noticed a cute homemade ornament project. The current weather pattern yesterday (freezing rain, snow, more rain) caused us to not be able to go outside and play in the snow (the 6+" of snow to turn into slush) with the girls. Instead their dad got them to clean their room and go through lots of clothes and toys...joy for a child, huh? ha I thought they could probably use something "fun" to do after cleaning and managed to be able to pull together the items needed for this project here at home. Yay for cheap projects!

I found the original idea here.

And here are ours...

So now the girls have some special ornaments to put on the tree! :) Hopefully we can continue this tradition every year.

Decorating for Christmas & DIY Stockings

I love love love Christmas lights! My favorite thing to do is sit in the dark with only the Christmas tree lighting the room. :)

We decorated a little early this year because we wanted to take a family picture on Thanksgiving by the tree. Looking back on this past week's events (a post for another day this week...I hope), I am glad I had the decorating done early because there wasn't time to do it as we normally do on Black Friday.

Enjoy looking at some of our pretties :)

mom's tree (aka the living room)

the "s&m" deer as we have affectionately laughed about these for a few years (my mom has had them since I was little)

our stockings and fake mantel! ha (Thanks to Missy!)

our tree (and the girls being silly)

our fake mantel complete with puppy dog stockings

And a little DIY project for the crafty types! ;) We needed a stocking for our new baby, Sadie, and Lucky just had a hand-me-down last year...so I was on a mission to create cheap stockings for the both of them. I bought the stockings at Dollar General for $1 each. We already had a set of stencils at home, as well as a brush and the black paint.

And now all the dogs have stockings...and yes, they already have goodies in them! Hmmm...wonder if they've been good enough!?! Emma doesn't think so. haha

Picture Recap

Jeez....I don't even know when the last time I posted was, but I know it was a few weeks ago. I have been terrible about keeping this up to date. Life seems to be flying by!

Here's what we've been up to:

Listening to Emma sing at her school's Christmas program

Christmas with Eric's family

Christmas here at the house

glasses (that match our china pattern) from Jen for the wedding toast

yes, that's an 11 pound jar of Nutella

Day 269

Merry Christmas, friends!!

The main theme of our Christmas day has been....resting. We don't get to lay around nearly enough...even Toby who ALWAYS sleeps, found time to rest some more. haha

We've also played cards a lot (we do enjoy UNO) and have consumed wine & cheese. Yum!

Now that we're full from our Christmas night dinner...we're resting some more and getting ready for another round of games. I will be going to bed early tonight since I have to go to work tomorrow. Our company is shutdown for the week, but due to being overwhelmed with work by our sister company, a handful of us have to go in and finish things up. With any luck, I can be in and out of work in 4-5 hours. It's overtime, so I can't complain too much, especially since I'm already getting paid for the hours as holiday time. ;)

Day 268

I hope everyone is enjoying this blessed holiday weekend! :)

Yesterday, my family spent time relaxing at home and eating WAY too much food. ha As per our usual tradition, we opened gifts on Christmas Eve. Even Toby had fun checking out his stocking! ;)

wearing my new black & gold head scarf

mom's been wanting one of these like my cousin Z has

Toby was pretty excited about what he found...

Toby running away with his new squeaker ;)

one of my new scarves

 

Toby helping Aunt Nenners open her crockpot cookbook

Day 267

I'm so excited about Scentsy right now! (when am I not, right?!?) ha January is Bring Back My Bar (BBMB) month, when the company brings back 20 voted on scents. There are some really good ones for next month! I have already dropped off a few packets of sample scents so I can place my first order for them on January 1st. If you are interested in collecting orders in January (a catalog party), please let me know and I'll get a packet in the mail to you. An extra incentive is that January is Double Half Price Hostess Rewards! Normally if you had a $150 party, you'd get 1 half price item. In January, you'll get 2. And that number keeps climbing the more you sell. :) AWESOME!

Last night mom, Jen and I went to dinner at one of our all-time fave places, Sakura Japanese Steakhouse - we love hibachi!! Then my cousin Zach got home and came over to our house. Mom, Jen, Z and I sat around talking and laughing - the things we do best! ;) We always have a good time together and something extremely random is always said. Last night my sister announces to us (out of nowhere), mom's reindeer looks like he's into S&M. Wait...she said what?!? hahahaha This little reindeer my mom has had for as long as I can remember, is currently sitting on the piano, and in retrospect, the harness is a bit strange. Only my family would point that out. *still laughing* Then she posted it on twitter and facebook...and more laughing ensued due to the comments! What do you think?

Day 262

Family day...to the max.

For starters, we attended the LAST (so sad, it makes me cry) Wagner Family Christmas. The Wagner's are my maternal grandmother's side of the family. I have only 1 remaining great uncle from the original fam (my gma's brothers/sister). It was a tear-jerker as we prayed before the meal and my cousin, John, shared some heartfelt words about how times change and it's up to us "younger" generations to keep the family together.

After lunch, mom and I followed Jen back to Indy. We helped her unload a rick of firewood. Jen and her roomie keep their apartment fairly cool because of gas prices, but they enjoy using their fireplace. It was a small price to pay to help them stay warm this winter! I treated mom & Jen to dinner at Boogie Burger and then we had dessert at BRICS. I am seriously in love with the Blackberry ice cream. Cannot. Get. Enough. :) ha Good thing I don't live there because I'd weigh even more than I do now! Yikes!

Days 254 & 255

Friday thru Sunday, our family gathered for the annual Christmas shindig at my cousin's house. It used to rotate between homes, but last year Zach bought a house in Georgetown and everyone else fell in love with the idea of a "slumber party" weekend. haha Some of the family stays at a local hotel, but most of us cram into the house. It's chaotic. It's loud. It's fun. We don't always see eye to eye and it's a dysfunctional group, but I love it. :)

I already posted my Project 365 pics for Friday, but I have some cute ones from Friday night that I have to share! I have 3 of the sweetest little cousins. Ethan is 8 (I can't believe that since I used to watch him one day a week when he was 1!!), Callie is 3 and Henry is 1. And I love 'em to pieces!

Henry loves Jenna...he has always gone to her which is funny because she is not really a "kid" person

Callie drinking her virgin strawberry daiquiri with the big kids ;)

Ethan & Callie

Wonder who the big kid is causing all the ruckus? haha

Saturday we mostly did our own things...the guys finished laying the laminate wood flooring in Z's hallway, some of the ladies shopped, some of us just relaxed on the couches and watched the kiddos. That evening, once everyone arrived, we had a big family dinner and included 2 of Z's neighbors. I was seriously laughing so hard that I was crying. No joke. It was the craziest, funniest, most random night ever. I can't begin to tell you the stories because you probably wouldn't believe the things that come out of my family's mouths. Wowza!

Z's beautiful Christmas tree

some of the fam hanging out

yes, we still write our names on cups and yes, my sister designated one for my alcoholic beverages!

Sunday everyone made it back to the house for a breakfast of epic proportions (donuts, waffles, biscuits and gravy, bacon, eggs, fruit, etc). We all packed up and headed home after helping Z restore some order in his home! I know he enjoys having us to visit, but as a bachelor who is used to peace and quiet, I know he can't wait to get rid of us!! hahaha ;)

I was the nice one to get up early and go get donuts every morning - brrrrr! 15 degrees ain't warm enough folks!