this was perfect!

via kate spade

i'm always telling mike i need a vacation so this hat would of been perfect except for the price tag. even on sale. *sigh* that kate spade.

a little of this and a little of that

1. this was my christmas day after all the presents were opened.

2. since i made way too many finger foods, i didn't have to cook super. we had our filet mignon, garlic mashed potatoes and homemade bread the next night.

3. we started a texas tradition and had the kids open gifts from other family members on christmas eve.

4. best idea ever! kaylee played with her new toys for 3-4 hours BY HERSELF!

5. which allowed me to wrap last minute gifts and tag all of them.

6. been getting tons done around the house. [mike is making use of his days off for once]

7. monday we drove down to the galleria and did some looking around. it was mostly to get out of the house. it took us 40-50 minutes to get out of the parking garage.

8. glad that was on the way out and not on the way in. mike would of been ticked the whole time shopping which means no fun for me!

9. think christmas in houston was a big hit. 3 out of 4 of us don't mind that there's no snow.

10. no big plans for new year's this year.

catching up

1. i had everyone draw their own portraits to make ornaments for my mom.

2. i got the idea from here but decided to keep it simple in black and white.

3. kaylee painted the rims and i glue gunned ribbon around on the outsides.

4. mike and i had a great time at the ladybug's christmas party saturday night.

5. even though we were the youngest, me by at least 5 years and mike by ten.

6. i took a christmas floral arrangement for the host and wonder why i don't spend the money and get one for myself. its something that i have always loved around the holidays.

7. i also love the gift sets of food. the nuts, crackers, cheeses and meats, the varieties of desserts but yet too cheap to buy them for myself (family).

8. or maybe its because i have high hopes that the husband will buy them for me instead.

9. kaylee and i made these super easy cookie truffles yesterday.

10. and a neighbor dropped off cake balls made into ornaments for us.

cool- it's friday!

kaylee and her requested donut "cake" [that's a number 7 sparkler]

ham upset because he didn't get any trident gum

1. kaylee had a great birthday even though she didn't have a party with friends.

2. her nana + pooppoop- as she likes to call them, sent her a $100 gc to american girl doll. i told them she likes to pretend shop so this way she can do it for realz.

3. we got her a pink sparkly cowgirl shirt, barbie that rides a bike, vera bradley purse and a charm bracelet with a charm.

4. my parents sent her a text gc to target and the rest of my family forgot.

5. she picked dinner at pf changs which surprised me. she usually picks olive garden.

6. kaylee took treat bags for her class. i forgot to take a photo of them. [they had glow in the dark sunglasses, m+m's, goldfish crackers, a pencil and a candy cane. so much for keeping it simple]

7. i got all christmas presents wrapped and ready to ship out to indiana for our families. hope they get there in time.

8. monday i went with the ladybugs and judged christmas lights around our neighborhood. my neighbor did not win in our area. [we have 3 different areas so there are 3 different winners]

9. tomorrow night one of the ladybug ladies is hosting a christmas party. mike and i are actually going. we desperately need conversation with other people!

10. ham "accidentally" dropped his iphone while cleaning the pool the other day. to keep him from bugging me, we went and got him the newest version yesterday. he was eligible for an upgrade. [this is an early christmas present]

she's 7 and...

what a difference

kindergarten and first grade

1. spunky

2. adorable.

3. lovable. [she wants to cuggle at night- thats her made up word to cuddle and snuggle]

4. smart

5. beautiful

6. feisty

7. awesome

bunch of rambling

getting ready to decorate the tree

1. not sure why but after having a fake tree for the past 3 or so years has made me miss a real tree.

2. which is good because i think this might our last year, the fake tree is ready to quit on us.

3. sorry for the lack in post but i've tried and either blogger loses my posts or its really slow in uploading a photo.

4. my love for pinterest continues. last week i made this and this for dinner.

5. this is going to be the first year kaylee is not having a birthday party with friends.

6. not because she doesn't have any because she does but we thought we should get to know them better.

7. we will go out to dinner of her choosing- olive garden and spoil her with hugs, kisses and gifts.

8. of course she will have treat bags for her classmates and i'm going to try and make them simple this year.

9. i've been listening to christmas music on pandora. michael buble and harry connick jr have the dreamy-est voices. [i loved harry since my jr. high/high school days]

10. it also feels weird not having any snow and that its going to be 75 degrees on wednesday.

only in texas

1. mike and i along with kaylee because she has to be in every photo.

2. yup. i'm wearing a dress. and. its one shoulder- oh lala.

3. we forced ham to babysit his sister in the hotel room where the party was held.

4. if he would of been one of my brother's, he would of complained, threw a fit and demanded that he was not going. but he didn't. he did complain. and he did threaten to jump out of the hotel window.

5. we could of let them both stay home but wasn't sure how little fleanut would of been once it got to be bedtime. sad, i know.

6. but we got to eat some awesome food, drink lots of drinks, got to see a band, watch co-workers think they could sing and dance, got to gamble and/or play video games.

7. sunday, kaylee and i checked out a local church. i got to witness a pastor give another pastor a stuffed armadillo and a shot gun. you should of heard the ooo's and ahhhh's and the "oh what a beautiful gun!" coming from the audience. only in texas baby.

8. its really starting to cool down now. today high of 47. and we just figured out how to turn on the furnace last night. yeah, so in the mornings its been freezing.

9. wondering if i'm the only one with a husband who doesn't listen.

10. though he has told me i don't speak loud enough. wondering if that's the truth or if he was just saying that...