Holiday Traditions

Can you believe that this time of year is here again?

ALREADY?!

The HOLIDAYS

I say this every year

But WOWZA

this year has flown by

This is a very important year for me

My Baby

me LAST baby 

turns 1 on THANKSGIVING

My family is in a new town

 a new state

My grandmother will not be with us

My middlest is turning 3

And I swore he would get a party this year

And

Connor is at that crucial, yet exciting age

where he will remember these moments

and Christmas morning

is full blown excitement for him

So we have been trying to figure out our plans

In the past we have been pretty good with a rotation

Thanksgiving with my family

Christmas with his

The next year

SWITCH

But with holiday births 

The routine is a bit off

And now 

We live away from both sides of the family

How do you handle being away from family?

We each want to spend the time with our family

Of course Christmas ranking the highest

But we know it is important for us to be home too

We want to start our own traditions for our kids

And let's face it

SC has a hard time traveling

Someone is always going to feel slighted

One of our families

or

One of us

So what to do?

We had originally decided to just stay home on Christmas

And travel before and/or after

But then my grandmother passed away

That means the holidays 

this first year especially

are going to be really hard

I know for Thanksgiving we are staying home

Just a family dinner

and birthday celebration

I am cooking the traditional meal though

trying anyway

It will be my first turkey

Maybe some football in the backyard

What ever we feel like

For Christmas

We may travel to MS

And then try and make it to TX the week after

Mark and I started a Christmas Eve tradition

several years ago

tamales for dinner

I am not sure how that is going to work out in OK

Tamales are much easier to come by in Texas

When I was growing up we always ate salty ham

(Country Ham)

and biscuits for dinner

Then we had the left overs on Christmas morning

I loved it

Maybe I will bring that meal back for my kids

I want my boys to have the best memories

EVER

When they are older and have their own kids

I want them to want to have the same traditions that they grew up with

Or at least similar

CHEEZE

I know

What are your favorite holiday traditions?

Do you like to travel on Thanksgiving and Christmas?

TV Land

They are ridiculous

Fake

Obnoxious

Tacky

Desperate for Attention

Rude

Insanely Rich

Stupid and Snotty

And I can't stop watching

You know who I am talking about

The Real Housewives

of

Beverly Hills

I love to hate the housewives

of

OC and NY as well

Not so much DC or ATL

I mean for real?!

60k on a 4 year old birthday party

That's what most people make in a year

Our country has more people out of work than ever

Kids hungry

And 60

thousand

dollars

on a

kid's 

party

CRAZINESS

Then the one bimbo

You know the one with the fake tits

And the fake blonde hair

1 of the 5

Says she wanted to marry for love

Not for someone giving her the life she wanted

She hope's she made the right decision

I see divorce in her future

Hope the dumbass hubs who fell for her BS

got a good prenup

And for Camille

She hates being alone

Thinks it's so unfair and HARD to be a single mother

You idiot

You have 3 nannies and a house manager

WTH?

I mean they all have killer bodies

You have to in BH

I suppose

Since every women out there has

size double 0 ass

and

double D tits

On another note.....

DWTS

How did Bristol make it so far?

And speaking of

I am a proud Republican

But Sarah Palin gets on my nerves

But her state is gorgeous

What are you watching?

Fall Favorites

 Round 2

It is full on fall here in OKC

The weather is cool

Rainy today 

The leaves have turned

Most have fallen to the ground

Coats are zipped up

Hats and mittens have been accounted for

LOVE IT

#1

Mr. Turkey 

 #2

Turkey Shirts

left overs from last year but still great

#3

Thankful Turkey

Openly stolen from Casey a few years ago

This year he is fat and named Princeton

#4

Gorgeous colored leaves

#5

Naked Bottoms

Ok I love this every time of year

Football Football

The hubs and I ventured down to Norman on Saturday for the

OU vs Tech

game

We Won

thank God

or it would have been a bad time

I know Mark was nervous about going with me

I'm not so into sports

But I was good

At least I thought I was

He may have a different opinion

I forgot how much fun football games can be

LIVE

It's fun to hang out with friends and watch on TV

But when you are there

The ambiance of the whole place...

you just can't compare the two

We just walked around for a bit

Stopped off in a couple of bars

Watched the band march on by

Our seats were great

OU fans 

ROCK

They certainly don't lack in team spirit

But what I think is funny

or just don't understand

is how into it people get

They're yelling at the players

They're yelling at the coach

They're yelling at the refs

Hello! None of those folks can hear you

It's all mind boggling to me

I would love to watch more games with Mark

with the family

In fact

I decided we have to become a tail-gating family

The kids all dressed up

The grill going

Lots of friends under the tent

Like Cindy did this weekend

But watching with Mark is not always fun

I am about to call you out babe

So if you are reading this

STOP NOW

When his team looses 

He's in a bad mood

for a long time

When his team wins

But did not play as well as he thinks they should have

He's in a bad mood

When another team he wanted to win/loose

So that the right team makes it to the playoffs 

doesn't win/loose

He's in a bad mood

Kind of sucks for me

And that's why we don't watch sports together

One day we will

He will figure it that it's ok to loose

It's about having fun

I still love you Mark

kisses

STOOPS

Just a little game we like to play when we do watch OU together

You have to be the first one to call his name

When he is on TV

BOOMER

Toodles my friends

Boomer and Updates

Today the hubs and I are headed to OU game

His mother game him the tickets for his birthday back in August

Pretty sure he would rather watch it with anyone but me

But as luck would have it

No one else was available

I could care less about football

For many reasons that I won't go into

But back in the day

(meaning pre "life with boys")

I was a pretty good tail-gater

And today it's gonna be chilly and sunny

Perfect Football Weather

BOOMER

Come on....

say it with me

(even if you're a Texas fan)

SOONER

It's a 2pm game

So we are headed down about noon

The boys will be all right with the dogs 

RIGHT?

Just kidding

Thought about it

But since Christian is still so little....

We don't have any sitters yet

(Truth is we have NEVER been able to find a regular sitter)

We are using an hourly daycare

We used to visit one in the Big D that we loved

The one here is just ok

Figures

OK in OKC

But it works in a pinch

Just costs you twice as much

But today I am not going to think about that

Going to concentrate on an afternoon with the

Man of my Dreams

Speaking of....

JBJ

was on the Today Show yesterday

I was almost late for school

Connor later told hubs

"Daddy, your wife has a boyfriend"

Nice huh?

And if you're still wondering who JBJ is...

Jon Bon Jovi

my lover

and yes, my boyfriend

in my head at least

Colton started a new school yesterday

A 2nd school I should say

He only attends his other school on Mondays

It was the only opening available

This is what happens when you move in the summer

So now I found a place that had 1 opening on Fridays

I think I am gonna LOVE it

Of course I thought the same thing about the Monday school

I have given this some thought

The problem is 

I had the best of everything in Dallas

The best school

Pediatrician

Mommy friends

Stores

It makes it hard for another place to compare

Anywho

Colton seemed to like it

Connor's BFF in school missed him terribly while we were gone

His mom told me that he did not want to go to school

And their teacher said she did not know if he was going to make it all week

He mailed Connor a picture that he drew

And it said "I love you" on it

Cutest thing 

EVER

If Christian does not get his 2 front teeth soon

He is likely to chew his way outta here

And if they don't come in less than 2 weeks 

He will be my first that did not have 4 teeth

on his birthday

OMG

his birthday is almost here

He is taking milk and juice from a cup

Nursing less

And....

wait for it....

sleeping through the night

HOLY GOODNESS

He is grown up

A year of no sleep 

And I am starting to dream of rocking a baby again

Not happening 

Just saying

Maybe I should volunteer at the hospital nursery

He is pretty into me

But when we are at my parent's house

He did not want ANYONE else

AT ALL

It was bad

I felt really sorry for my parents

I went Christmas shopping last night

Target and Toys R Us

Good Times

I wish I could buy it all 

But on the other had

You know you have too much

And you want to teach them 

The real meaning of Christmas

And

How to earn new toys

And

How to respect what they have

But I realized

The 3rd boys

Gets totally screwed

We already have every toy

So what's he gonna get

I have no idea

I can't even think of anything for him

Not true

I thought of 1 thing

OK

Gotta go finish my closet project before I head to Norman

Halloween and Family Time

Better late than never

Right?

We were invited to our first birthday party here in OKC

It was the Friday before Halloween

Costume Party 

of course

For our neighbor Charlie

He obviously does not live in our cul-de-sac

since he is 3

not 83

I had talked to my dad that morning and already decided

to head home on Saturday

So I had a million things on my mind

But did not want to miss the bash

 It was a weekday, morning party

Never been to one with that kind of time

It was great

Made a mental note that it worked well

 The kiddos decorated cookies and had pizza for lunch

We left a bit early to get Connor off to school

Met a few mom's

Did not get numbers though

I say this every time

But man, I need a pick up line or something

to score the digits

Got Connor off to school

Got the little ones napping

Got some laundry going

and then....

the phone rang

It was that call we all dread

caller: Hi is this Mrs. Lenzer

me: Yes

caller: Hi, this is so and so from Connor's school

He's had a little accident on the playground

HEART POUNDING

a million visions flash before my eyes in 2 seconds

caller: His nose is bleeding out of both sides and he won't stop crying, can you come 

me: On the way

So I literally grab the 2 sleepers from their beds and run to the car

Luckily we just live a couple of minutes from the school

I get there and toss the little boys into the stroller and rush in

to find my big boy sitting there with red eyes and and ice  pack on his nose

And tissue on the nostrils
looking so tiny in the big kid school

Just a bump

Nothing broken

THANK YOU GOD!

He fell on the playground

No ones really knows what happened

However he had a really nasty knot on the back of his head as well

As we were leaving the school office

His eyes welled up with tears again

He looked so frightened that I almost started to cry too

He was upset

Not about his nose or fall

But because he did not get to show his spider man for 

show and tell

So me

being the rock star mom that I am

Walked him directly to his classroom

for show and tell

Then I took my baby home for some TLC

We headed to Mississippi the next morning

Mark drove us, then flew home Sunday morning

The boys were concerned about missing trick or treat 

So I

still being the rock star mom that I am

promised to take them

Why not?

My parents live in the country now

but it's just a few miles from Collierville, TN

where I grew up

I can make this work right?

Connor did not want to be a Ninja Turtle though

I think he was having buyers remorse over his costume

He decided to wear his Buzz Lightyear pj's

Which meant Colton wanted to wear his Woody pj's

Hey...

those are easier to pack

We met up with my Tony and Shea
and their clan
Tony and Shea are my BIL's borther and SIL
I couldn't get my 2 to stand still long enough for a photo
And this was before the sugar high began

Their youngest
 Lola
 fell asleep while trick or treating
Literally
Went up to a door, got some candy
Came back to the wagon
And
was out
like a light
for the night

This house was the cutest
They had the outside all done up
Fog
Music
Spider webs and such
Plus these ghosts and a spider man
Made to look like trick or treaters
LOVED IT

Trick or treating was fun
Now I wish the candy would go
AWAY!!!!
GGRRRRRR

So I spent Saturday and Sunday with my mawmaw at the nursing home
On Monday my sister and I went in shifts
One being with mawmaw while the other stayed with our kids
On Thursday morning she passed away
We had a grave side service for her on Saturday
It was the hardest week of my life
wondering why
cherishing memories
But the family being together made it a little less painful
(if that is really possible)
Mark's support and strength helped more than he knows
(He flew back in on Friday night and then drove us home Sunday)
And all of your thoughts and prayers got me through

To Do List

We made it home from Mississippi last night

Safely

2 kids were already asleep

1 did not even get into pajamas

I managed to go through the catalogs and junk mail

and

Watch Brothers and Sisters

Before passing out

Today....back to work

The To Do List

Short term for today

-get off the computer

-make Colton's lunch

-take Colton to school

-return books to library

-take Connor to swim lessons

-try and work out while at the Y

-come home for lunch and reading time

-take Connor to school

-get Christian down for nap

-get laundry going

-take down the spiders and bats

-replace with turkeys

-pick Colton up from school

-pick Connor up from school

-work on laundry

-go to Connor's parent/teacher meeting

-go to grocery store

Long Term To Do List

-plan Thanksgiving

-plan Christian 1st birthday (just a family thing)....any ideas?

-plan Colton's 3rd birthday party, praying we have enough friends to invite

-get my Christmas act together

I would just like to say many thanks to everyone for their kind words, prayers, phone calls,& comments

It has been a very hard week with the loss of my mawmaw

And a hard holiday season lies ahead

I really am grateful for such good friends

Now....I am off to get started on that list

CHECK

Quick Update

Still here at the folks place

My sis and I are taking shifts sitting by Mawmaw's side

She goes at 7am and I stay with the kids

Then I go at noon-ish and she stays with the kids

That's 5 kids all together

Good times!

Mawmaw is hanging on

Don't know why

Or

why God hasn't taken her Home

It is the saddest, hardest thing I have done or seen

Prayers peeps

Lots of prayers please

For her

For my dad

For my family

We did manage some trick or treating

I will get those pictures on here later today

hopefully

Missing everyone!

Toodles

Jann

Dallas Trip- Phase 2& 3

So this is going to be a super quick wrap up 

I got stuff going on

You're Welcome

Day 2 in Dallas was spent with besties

Bethany

Ilan and Castel

I love having boys the exact same age

 It was suppose to rain all day

So we opted for the mall

Bookstore

Lunch

Carousel

 Christian's first ride

He loved it

 Since by early afternoon it hadn't rained

(thanks mother nature for making us miss the zoo)

We opted to head to Central Park in Frisco

The boys needed to RUN

One of my absolute favorite places in town

If you have never strolled through there

Please do

Day 3 of Dallas

PARTY DAY

First stop

Chuck-E-Cheese

Castel's 3rd birthday

Never been to a party at the CEC

We often go for lunch and playing on a Tuesday afternoon

BIG DIFFERENCE

Party central + rainy Saturday=

crazytown

 Colton and Castel

So sweet

(FYI-for anyone living in the area, Bethany buys her cakes from the baker in downtown Mckinney..best cakes EVER)

 Next Party

Infinite Bounds

Where we did Connor's last year

And where I would do every party if we still lived there

For our old neighbor

Milla, turning 4

 This is Christian and Trace

Milla's baby brother

about 7 weeks younger

Look at my white boy

And chunky boy

 This is where my camera was getting blurry

Piece of crap

I don't think Milla has any girl friends

It was all boys, unless related

Party number 3

Mine

Dinner at The Keg

YUM

Linda, Tony, Amy, and of course Mark

joined me

This is Linda and Tony

I could do an entire blog on the life of Tony

I will have to share some stories some time!!

He is CRA-ZY

 After dinner we went to the Hub to finish watching the game

And play a little JENGA

 Darren and Tanya joined us there

They never miss out on a game challenge

And Amy lost this round,

But we did all share of loosing

Ok my blogging peeps

I might not be posting for a few days

I am doing laundry today so that I can pack

I am headed to Memphis/Mississippi tomorrow

My Mawmaw only has a few days left

She has been in a nursing home for about a year now

suffering from Alzheimer's

But she developed pneumonia a few days ago

She refuses to eat and take medication

Most people her age don't recover from pneumonia

Please please keep her and my family in your prayers

Stay Out of the Water