*This post may contain affiliate links.
What a wonderful long weekend we just had! I had intended to post our Christmas recap yesterday, but the holiday got the best of me, and I decided to forgo time on the computer to spend quality time with my lovies instead. :o) What can I say about our Christmas? Well, it was pretty much perfect. It was magical and fun and a little bit crazy all rolled into one. Just the way we like it!
What a wonderful long weekend we just had! I had intended to post our Christmas recap yesterday, but the holiday got the best of me, and I decided to forgo time on the computer to spend quality time with my lovies instead. :o) What can I say about our Christmas? Well, it was pretty much perfect. It was magical and fun and a little bit crazy all rolled into one. Just the way we like it!
We started the long holiday
weekend with lots of relaxing Wednesday evening. I whipped up some copycat Winter White Cosmos
(from Bonefish) and B and I settled in for a movie night.
Thursday Jacob and I hung
around the house in the morning and then it was off to run a couple of
errands. My allergies and asthma were
RAGING in the few days leading up to Christmas so we headed to the allergist so
he could change my meds to try to keep me comfortable. But first, we decided to swing through the
Wendy’s drive-through for frosties… at 11 o’clock in the morning. Because – Christmas break!
Jacob and I picked Olivia up
from school early and then we headed straight to my parents’ house for an
impromptu dinner with my brother, SIL, and nephew! It was the first time we had gotten to see
them since they had arrived home and it was a wonderful evening of catching
up. I helped my mom prep for dinner and
then we all headed outside for some fresh air since we finally had a break in
the rain. It literally rained/was super
cloudy all week leading up to Christmas Day.
That evening when we got
home from my parents’ house, we arrived home to this:
The majority of the
Christmas tree lights were out and I was beside myself! Why oh why does stuff like that have to
happen right before Christmas?! Brian
messed with them for a little bit and he finally discovered that the fuse for
the strand that plugged into the wall was blown. All he did was pop out the old one, pop in a
new one, and voila! The six dark strands
were all okay! Whew! #IKnewIMarriedHimForAReason ;o)
That evening we put the kids
to bed, watched the SNL Christmas Special and then called it a night.
Friday morning we were up
and out early to get the kids to Nana and Poppie’s house to bake and decorate
Christmas cookies! B and I used the
opportunity to step out and run a few last-minute errands while the kids baked
with Nana. We actually ended up at Toys
R Us and it wasn’t near as crazy as we were thinking it would be since it was
just three days before Christmas. We
ended up scoring a Robotrax for Jacob for half off!! We were already done shopping for him, but
for the last week all he kept telling people was that he wanted a Robotrax from
Santa. Fortunately we were able to make
that happen!
Meanwhile, the kids were
decorating cookies AKA dumping sprinkles EVERYWHERE. Haha.
That evening we made White
Chicken Chili at home and then we did our annual drive around and look at
Christmas lights night. The kids were
particularly excited about it this year and they really oohed and ahhed more
than ever! They kept shouting gleefully,
“MORE MORE!”
We finished the evening with some festive mules and more couch time.
Saturday morning we were up
and out early again to meet my bro, SIL, and nephew at our local trampoline
park. They do toddler time on Saturday
mornings so we were able to avoid the chaos of older kids and it was a great
time! The kids (and adults) all jumped
and played for two straight hours and a good time was had by all! I thought for sure I would be super sore the
next day but I actually wasn’t. Good to
know I’m not an old lady yet. ;o)
Saturday afternoon was spent
making gingerbread houses that B and I had picked up on Friday. I helped Jacob with the frosting while B
helped Olivia and then the two kids decorated their houses all by
themselves. Not too shabby, right?
After the gingerbread houses
were made and lots of frosting and toppings were eaten, B and the kids baked
all the chocolate chip cookies for Christmas Eve. We called in pizza for dinner and then we all
snuggled up on the couch to watch Home Alone.
While we’ve had it on in the background every Christmas Eve since both
of them were born, this was the first time we had all actually sat down and
watched together. The kids LOVED
it. No surprise there!
Sunday was Christmas Eve and
the morning was spent cooking. We all
took a very short break to have Sunday lunch at my MIL’s, and then it was back
home to cook some more and get ready for children’s Christmas Eve mass.
Mass was at 4 and it kicked
off my favorite 8 hours of the entire year.
The kids were able to go to the front of the church to hear our priest
tell the story of the nativity, and the children’s choir sang all of the
hymns. It is always my absolute favorite
mass of the entire year!
We had to stop in the commons area after mass for some pictures by the big Christmas tree and then it was time to run home and grab all of the food and gifts to take to my parents’ house for Christmas Eve dinner.
We arrived at my parents’
house around 6 and the rest of the evening was spent eating, drinking, opening
gifts, and being merry with so many of our loved ones. In addition to my family of four, my momma, daddy,
two brothers, sister-in-law, nephew, uncle, uncle’s girlfriend, father-in-law,
and brother’s friend were all there so it was a packed house!
My mom had made a huge
spread – honey glazed ham garnished with pineapple, dressing, homemade mac n
cheese, sweet potato soufflé, and green beans, and I had brought the mashed
potatoes and black eyed peas while my uncle’s girlfriend brought broccoli
salad. I whipped up some Winter White
Cosmos and we also opened a bottle of wine, and we all stuffed ourselves silly.
After dinner we opened
gifts. My Momma and Daddy bought several
things for me off of my wish list – these boots, this scarf, and these work out pants along with a few other things. And by the way, I love all three of those things…
all fit perfectly and are so cute! The
boots are ah-mazing. I LOVE them.
The kids scored lots of new
stuff including a new spaceship shaped tent for J and a Jasmine costume and
Cinderella dress for Olivia.
Once the gifts were all
opened, we all settled in for our annual viewing of Home Alone and dessert –
Ritz Pecan Pie and the homemade chocolate chip cookies that B and the kids had
made with coffee to accompany.
Christmas Eve perfection.
Side note, my littlest brother surprised my mom by chopping off his hair which has been as long as mine for several years now... she was ecstatic! And he looks so handsome!
A little after 10 we got the
kids in their jammies and loaded up the car and headed home to get them in the
bed so Santa could come. They were both
sound asleep within 30 seconds (literally) and B and I quickly got to
work.
B built a fire, we put on
Home Alone 2 and then I cooked up the breakfast sausage for Christmas morning
before pulling out all the things to put together. We made it to bed a little before 2 and then
we were awakened a short hour or so later by Olivia’s awful croupy breathing. Thank God our doctor had prescribed some
Prednisolone for us to keep on hand, because if not, we would have had to take
her to the ER. Her strider was so bad
that she was struggling to breathe and it scared me to death. We are no strangers to croup as it landed
Jacob in the ER overnight when he was two, so we knew exactly what to do. I ended up putting her in our bed and I spent
the next hour and a half wide awake waiting for the medicine to kick in and her
breathing to regulate. Just as I fell
back asleep it was about time to be up on Christmas morning.
Olivia was perfectly fine
when she woke up and you would never know that she had had any issues during
the night, thank you Lord! We all headed
downstairs at about 7:45 and the kids checked out everything that Santa had
brought. The first thing Jacob commented
on was the Robotrax so B and I were glad that we had gone out and gotten it at
the last minute!
The kiddos loved everything
that they received and Olivia changed clothes no less than five times in the
first hour because she wanted to wear all of her new costumes.
I started brunch around 9:15
and everything was ready by 10. I made a
sausage, biscuit, egg, and cheese casserole, bacon, Munchkins from Dunkin’
Donuts, blueberries, strawberries, and grapes, and then OJ and coffee to drink.
My momma, daddy, bro, uncle,
uncle’s girlfriend, and father-in-law all came over and we ate and ate some
more. Afterward, the kiddos showed off
their new toys, and then we all opened our stockings from my parents.
They all cleared out just
before noon and I took the next couple of hours to get some stuff put away
(hardly made a dent in the mess. Haha)
and then around 3 I lay down on the couch for a nice little Christmas nap while
B and the kiddos played.
I was up by 4 to cook my
pineapple casserole and then we all got ready and headed to my aunt and uncle’s
house for Christmas evening with my mom’s entire side of the family. You may remember that we were originally
supposed to host, but my aunt and uncle who usually host ended up being able to
stay home for Christmas so they just decided to host like usual.
Olivia received some real Georgia cheerleading pom poms so she naturally wanted to wear her Georgia cheerleader uniform. ;o)
My cousins who live in
Denver and LA were both here and my cousin Zoe’s kids were here as well. They are Jacob’s and Olivia’s exact ages so
the four of them played and played and played all night while the adults ate a
ton of food (again) and drank lots of wine (again). It was a wonderful evening! We even managed to take a group picture of
the whole family!!
We got home a little after 9
and the kids had already both passed out in the car, so bedtime was easy peasy
and B and I spent the rest of the evening downstairs watching yet another
movie… this time, Bad Santa. (Not a fan,
by the way!)
Tuesday everyone was so
exhausted that we all slept in past 8 and then we got ready and headed to
Atlanta to meet my brother, SIL, nephew, and some of my brother’s friends at
the Georgia Aquarium. My nephew, Tucker,
is obsessed with fish right now so they wanted to take him. We hadn’t been in a couple of years, so it
was nice for the kids to see it again.
Jacob remembered going the last time, but Olivia had no memory of it
since she wasn’t even two the last time we went.
We spent the day looking at
beluga whales and whale sharks and penguins and all sorts of other marine
life. We went to the section where you can touch some of the rays and fish and other things and both of them were all over it, even though Olivia was a bit timid at first. The kids were a bit whiny in
between exhibits, but over all they did pretty great considering that we were
there for five hours!
Also, Tucker hadn't been wanting me to hold him too much since he had arrived because he doesn't get to see us but once a year other than in pictures and via Facetime, but toward the end of our time at the aquarium he lifted his little arms to me because he wanted me to pick him up. I was in heaven and I carried him around for the remainder of our time there.
We made it home just in time
for me to make some grilled cheese sandwiches for a late dinner, and then it
was off to bed for the kids and more TV watching for B and me.
B was back at work yesterday
and the kids and I literally never even left our PJs, so it was a productive
day.
We truly had the best
loooong Christmas weekend and we are so very thankful for another year of
holidays where everyone was healthy and well. And as of yesterday morning our house still looked like this:
Now to celebrate with
Brian’s family this coming weekend!
I hope you plan on sharing the recipe for those cosmos!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas - I am excited for you guys that you get to keep on keeping on with the celebrations this weekend! That scarf you got for Christmas is super pretty and I really love the sweater you wore to the aquarium.
What a wonderful Christmas!
ReplyDeleteYour nephew looks just like Jacob. I kept having to take a second look...HA
Oh and I need that cosmo recipe! ASAP!
It looks like you had a great Christmas!! And yes, I'm with Heather! You should share your white cosmo recipe! =)
ReplyDeleteYour nephew does look like Jacob! How cute!
ReplyDeleteHaha. We hear that a lot! Jacob looked a lot like my brothers when he was a baby, too!
DeleteWhat a beautiful Christmas weekend!! I miss it already!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brandi. I do too!
DeleteLooks like a great weekend and a lovely Christmas! We went to the GA aquarium a few years ago and I lost my camera lens on that rope bridge, lol!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun week you've been having!! Christmas looked amazing and I'm so glad you were able to get Olivia's croup under control, that's scary no matter how many times you've been through it!
ReplyDelete