Christmas 2009

Ok, so Christmas 2009 was.... interesting. I got some pics but not near enough. Mainly of me, Chloe, Cam, and Hayden. But, I have only downloaded pics from one of three cameras. I did get pics of the snow!! I HOPE to have my crap together next year. Maybe I'll decorate in one day instead of over the course of a week, maybe I'll bake or even try another gingerbread house. We'll see. Having a baby turned my already chaotic house even more crazy so I was not my normal organized self. Don't laugh. Here are some photos. I may or may not add some more. Probably not, but one can hope.

Camden in his OU beanie


snow! in Texas! on Christmas morning!


snow by the pool



Chandler's haul



Hunter's goodies



Chloe's loot



Hayden's stuff



baby Cam's first Christmas



bitter beer face



watching the game



me and Cam (bad pic of me as a "bow head")



Hayden's homemade "Keep Out" sign... thank goodness for washable markers



Chloe in her Natalie Dee T shirt (reads: Koala Farts Smell Like Cough Drops)



Chloe in the snow (beautiful girl!)



Chloe and Hayden playing in the snow

Tidbits

Ok, here is what's been going on:

Christmas is FINALLY over, yay! I am so glad and I don't mean to sound like Scrooge at all. Mainly because our house is so over run with baby goodies that I will not be sad to see the tree and other decor go in the attic. Hopefully we'll have won the lottery and gotten a bigger house before next year.... HAHAHAHAHA! LOLOLOLOL! Christmas was a blast as always! Camden's first Christmas didn't disappoint, however I forgot to get him a Baby's 1st Christmas outfit and a pic of him wearing said non-existent outfit... oh well!

I got an IPHONE! I love it so much! It is the funnest thing to play with although I don't know half of the things it is capable of. But give me time! I never want to own another phone. It is SO COOL!

Jon and I are discussing putting our house on the market. Yes, the real estate market isn't great now. But, with prayer, faith, and much intense discussion we feel like if it's the right thing to do we'll know. Also, if it sells quickly that will be a determining factor as well. We aren't 100% sure where we would go but have discussed Grand Prairie near Joe Pool Lake. Personally I would miss my friends over here terribly and our pool and stuff but we need more living space and less yard.

Camden weighs 16 POUNDS! He is getting so big. He is giggling and kicking and is just so full of personality. I just love him to bits. He put on quite a show for family over the holiday and was passed from person to person and boy did he ever ham it up! He has been drooling and chewing like crazy. I think he may be in the beginning stages of teething. Certainly his boobie-biting has been an indicator. Santa brought him some baby cereal and 1st foods, so after his 4 month check up in a few weeks he may be starting solids!

Ok, here's a biggie: what do those of you who live near family do to divide your time with family evenly over the holidays? Jon and I had a pretty heated argument about this over Christmas. Yes, bad timing I know... I absolutely LOVE both of our families to pieces but it seems as if I don't ever get to see enough of them on holidays. We are either at our own house or on the road. What to do? There are only so many days... advice/opinions please!

Chandler took his SATs the other day and scored 1800 out of 2400. I was hoping for a perfect score :) to help him get into a good school or the very least a decent scholarship. I am super proud of him no matter what! He is more than likely gonna retake it, simply to see if he can get a higher score and because when he took it the first time he had 4 hours of sleep, no breakfast and he left his calculator at home.

And, last but CERTAINLY not least: both of Jon's grandmothers passed away within 13 days of each other. So super sad and at Christmas too. His maternal grandmother, Mabel, was in her mid nineties and it was expected that she wouldn't make it til Christmas. But, it was very hard regardless. She was soooo sweet and I loved her so much. Just a sweet kind little lady with a great spirit about her. I will miss her so much. His other grandma, Cecilia, was his stepdad's (from age 5 to 25) mom and she was a feisty redhead like me, so naturally we hit it off from the first time I met her. Her passing was VERY unexpected and hit an already grieving family hard. I am so sorry to all family on hubby's side for such a devastating loss during Christmas. These two neat ladies will be dearly missed. As soon as I can get my scanner working I hope to load some pics of Mabel and Cecilia on here.

And, on that note I am gonna finish my chores and dinner. I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas and I am wishing all of y'all a healthy, prosperous, Happy New Year! Can't wait to hear those resolutions!

Dear Santa,

Ok, Santa so I realize that my letter is really late this year. As a matter of fact you may be down the street for all I know... but, I am writing you anyway! I think I have been an ok girl this year, maybe I'm on the "Between Naughty and Nice List"? For sure I have held my tongue MANY times and I always let my husband eat and shower before me even when I'm starving and stinky and Camden is crying. I have also kept my road rage in check. Those are good things right? Not to mention I have kept breastfeeding Camden even though one of my nipples is permanently deformed. There are so many good things I could mention, but since you know EVERYTHING I will save myself the trouble. I am not gonna ask for much, Former Girl Scout's Honor. And really since I got a new Iphone(!!!) I really don't need alot.
So without further delay I would like:

A ginormous bottle of Nair and the courage to actually use it. I haven't been able to shave much lately and I am afraid I am gonna tear my sheets or hurt someone with all of the stubble.

The little Asian man down at the pedicure place to rub my feet every night. My bunions have been killing me lately and Jon isn't as good at foot rubs as the little dude down at the nail salon.

Larger towels. I managed to flash the Direct TV guy yesterday. I screamed. He stared. Not pretty. I am surprised he didn't run away. The least he could have done was offer me a free movie or something.

A pair of contact lenses that can resist sliding down the drain. Or maybe a pair a day for the entire year. Maybe if they hadn't slid down the drain yesterday I would have seen the satellite man before I walked past him naked.

Cheesecake in all flavors from the Cheesecake Factory. I am trying to make my butt look more shapely and I am thinking cheesecake might help.

A giant bib. Camden spits up ALOT and every single time I am without protection, he gets me. He is super fast and I am never ready it seems... and I get barfed on alot. A bib would be great!

A better alarm clock. We oversleep frequently and I am tired of rushing every single morning. Not fun.

For Hayden to be more adventurous in the food department. The kid has eaten the same 15 foods for years and I am sick of them, surely he is too...

For Chloe to stop missing the bus. She misses it about 3 days per week. So. Freaking. Annoying. Especially since Hunter goes to the same school as her and he manages to catch the bus. If I get the above mentioned alarm clock that might help a bunch.

I would also really like it alot if Chandler got a JOB. He really needs a job. The kid will be 18 in 3 short months! Preferably not at a food place but instead a place where he can get a discount (Target!).

For Hunter to cut his dang hair! He reminds me of Shaggy or Johnny Depp's portrayal of Willy Wonka. Johnny is a dollface but his Willy Wonka hairdo is fugly. Bobs aren't cute on boys and the last chick who cut Hunter's hair messed it up bad....

Anway, I think that's about it. If you could fulfill all of my Christmas wishes that would be groovy. If not I'll be ok. Really I have lived with/without the stuff I have asked for and I am ok. And, I have an Iphone so I'll survive!

**Merry Christmas Everyone!

Holiday in the Park

Saturday we headed to Holiday in the Park with Jon's mom, sisters, brother, and niece. None of us had ever been before, but for sure we will go back. We had a blast!! The only downfall was that none of us Myers' dressed warm enough. Jon told us it wasn't that cold, and we all wore short sleeves and hoody's. Jon and Chandler didn't bring jackets at all. Next time we will wear layers, so we can unwrap ourselves if we get hot as opposed to freezing to death! Anyway, I think I love Six Flags at Christmas way more than I do in the Summer. It was just so festive and the food offerings were better. Something about greasy food during the heat of Summer and of course the $5 sodas... I much prefer a cold sunny day and things to eat like: soups, cinnamon apples, kettle corn, and my favorite: baked sweet potato. Let's not forget the 1.99 hot cocoa. Yum! We all really enjoyed ourselves. Except, take my advice: Lamaze breathing does nothing to calm your nerves, fear, nausea, and dizziness when you are riding the Titan. I tried and I looked like an idiot (yes, they got a picture.) Enough gabbing- I know you wanna see the pics and you should definitely go if you can. They are open til January 4th and it's half the price it normally is. So worth it. Thanks Ginger and family, we will definitely do it again!

Me and Chloe


Sarah and Ginger (Jon's mom and sister)


Hayden and Cadence holding hands, so cute!


Chloe and Cadence


group shot, minus me and Ginger


Cadence and Hayden checking things out


SuperChan...


and the rest of his prizes


the boys in the old-timey cars


Chloe behind the wheel


Chloe!


the kiddos waiting on us to ride the Titan


Atalie and Cadence (mommy and daughter)


Myers family


mother and son


FROSTY!


Jon and Chloe. He was super cold so she offered her daddy her accessories...


and, what to eat after a cold day at Six Flags?



SALTGRASS!! (yes, I scraped off the extra butter) That was probably the best steak I have eaten in awhile. Probably because we were starving and cold. The fact that we got a gift card that helped cover the tab might have had some influence as well.

Merry Christmas, in you guessed it: a nutshell

Was awakened after 4 coma-like hours of sleep to open gifts. Kids loved their stuff. I am amazed, as they get older their pile of presents get smaller but my credit card bill gets higher... Made a giant breakfast, pretty sure the eggs were bad, we skipped those. Which is super annoying, I just bought them yesterday and do you know how long it takes to scramble eggs for 6 people?!?! Took a nap, cleaned house, picked up trash and put away toys like 20 different times. Made an awesome dinner: shrimp, bread, salad, and other fattening stuff. Drove around and looked at lights. Blogging. Fixing to take a well deserved bubble bath. I hope everyone had an amazing holiday. Merry Christmas to you and yours. And remember, just say NO to New Year's resolutions. You're just gonna break them by January 15th anyway. Oh yeah, I got an honest to goodness spin bike, ya know spinning, the scary exercise class!? And, an Ipod Touch. Basically I think Jon is ready for me to lose the rest of this weight. So, he got me a fabulous piece of exercise equipment and something to occupy me while I use it. The End.

the living room and all the goods


Jon's stuff and my little pile (Ipod in stocking, spin bike in garage)


Chloe's presents


Chan's stuff (sweet 12 string acoustic, his 3rd guitar)


Hunter's stuff (we hid his Ipod Touch under his hat, he was kinda sad til he saw it)


Hayden's goodies (yes, he got Heely's and a skateboard, cross your fingers for no ER visits)


cupcakes for Santa (what? I forgot cookies...) and carrots for the reindeer


Chan serenading his family


my fave slippers


Chloe looking tired and annoyed


Hunter and his new BFF


Hayden just plain excited

Christmas Eve: in a nutshell

Parents came over, sisters and their kids came over. Bummed that my kids aren't babies anymore, but also kinda glad. Ate too much. Didn't get in bed til 4:30, am amazed at how long my kids lasted.... I was on the blogs and Facebook at 3 in the morning to pass the time. Here are a TON of photos, and I do mean a TON!

me and Chloe


Jon and Hunter playing chess (waiting til the food was ready...)


me and Hayden


me- self portrait and Hayden an innocent bystander


my dad and his fave gift of all. Not really... let's just say this was a gag gift and my dad wasn't for change this election


me and the babies


Jonah and Corgan in an extreme closeup


sisters, daughter, and nephews


Chan doing a darn good Grinch impersonation


Jonah and Chloe


Chloe and Jonah