Christmas Eve we went to my mom's to visit. We did a lot of lounging, watching TV, eating, visiting, ya know all my favorite things. :) We also played white elephant with gifts. Mom always picks good gifts and plans it well. I got a perfect gift, which it was a big book filled with different herbal teas from around the world. Jesse got a cool gift too...tabletop foosball!! We played it a lot over the break, and he even took it to work to play with his friends/coworkers.
We didn't go to my uncle's this year on Christmas Eve. That's one thing I dislike about the holidays-everyone expects you to do all the traveling and to be in five places at once, and they get offended if you don't show up. I do want to see everyone in my family, but there is only so much time in a day. I'm sure they all have cars and know how to get to my apartment. ;)
I didn't know it at the time, but the reason we didn't go to my uncle's is because we were going to my Granny's. My cousin Brian was in from the Marines, so everyone went to see him. Here is a picture of him with his mom, Aunt Sandra.
Christmas morning we were at Tammy and Jeff's, where Tailor, Alex, Megan, and Dustin all came down for breakfast. We opened gifts, and I gotta say, I received some awesome gifts.
I felt a bit of guilt because I didn't buy anyone gifts, just like every year. In a way, I wish people would stop giving into the commercial side of Christmas and just enjoy spending time together. On the other hand, I realize some people show their love through the love language of giving gifts.
I can never afford to go all out on gifts, especially this year since I am having my first baby.
Anyway, I didn't take photo's of every single item, but I received many things I don't deserve, especially since I didn't buy anyone else a gift. Tammy and Jeff gave me my favorite perfume Daisy by Marc Jacobs, a monogrammed photo album, a coffee candle, socks, kitchen towels, new sheets, the best gingersnap cookies from World Market,a scarf, a gift card to get a 4D sonogram, baby clothes, movies and books for baby skully, and stocking stuffer goodies. My dad gave me art supplies, and my brother got me a matching set of mittens, a hat, and a scarf.
We also played games at Tammy and Jeff's. We played a candy cane fishing game. Tammy made a homemade fishing pole with a hook and a dollar store fairy wand. The candy canes are in a basket, and whoever can fish out the most candy canes in 60 seconds wins. Tailor won that one.
Then we played a cup stacking game. Whoever could stack the most cups and build a structure in 60 seconds won. I was the winner of that one. That's where I won my cupcake kitchen towel prize.
Then we played Christmas trivia games. One trivia game was all about "The Christmas Story" and the other was basic Christmas movie trivia. I think Megan won "The Christmas Story" trivia, and all the girls tied for movie trivia.
After all the games, we ate Bar-B-Q brisket, ribs, baked beans, and potatoes. Tammy and Jeff are excellent cooks and always work so hard to make sure we are well fed. It was delicious.
We went to my Granny's again Christmas Day with Dad and Brad. After that, we went to Dad's to chill, open gifts, and watch movies.
The next day was relaxing. We just chilled all day on the sofa. A pre-cursor of the week to follow. We went back to Texarkana the day after Christmas to begin our week off. We kicked it off by watching one of our movie gifts, The Land Before Time. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid, and I gotta say, that movie is SAD. Baby skully may not be watching that one for a while. haha
The next day, we went to spend our Olive Garden gift card Perry and Mom got us. It was SOOO delish. I don't get to go there very often, so when I do, I splurge! I was so full, and it was so worth it.
After that, Jes sat in the car while I went to Michaels. He was too full to walk around. haha They were having an after Christmas clearance sale, so I bought a couple of items to make baby headbands. It was my first time making them, but I think they turned out okay. Now, I hope baby will wear them without throwing a fit. haha
I also bought some yarn at Michaels because I wanted to pick up knitting again since I had the week off. I was really out of practice and basically had to re-learn since it had been so long.
My friend Erin came over the next day. We lounged, talked, drank coffee ( decaf tea for me), played dominoes, and ordered wing-stop. She also brought me a significant amount of baby girl clothes! How sweet of her!
Erin and I kicked Jesse's booty in dominoes. We kept saying "Oooo, Jesse getting spanked by some girls." Jes would reply, "That don't sound too bad." hahah
The next day I had another visit from a friend. Nathan was delivering gifts from he and Hillary before he left for Kuwait. I am so humbled to receive such an awesome loot! I'm really excited about the car seat and stroller. That saves me so much money, and it is a highly rated name brand set!
Hillary also sent gender neutral clothing, homemade headbands and barefoot sandals, a head rest, car seat strap covers, wash clothes, binkies, binkie clip, witch hazel, The Giving Tree, mittens, an ink pad for baby footprints, a mesh wash bag, bio oil ( which I really am excited about that one too), and the Belly Button for turning regualr pants into maternity pants. I feel so special and lucky to know such generous people!
Megan and Dustin bought me a book of fairy tales to read to baby Skully. I started with the real version ( not Disney) of The Little Mermaid. It is dark and depressing. I'm not sure I can read that one to Skully until she is older. haha I love the book though. It is filled with classic fairy tales.
Jes is a Star Wars fan ( who isn't?) and his mom got him the Operation game, only it is themed Star Wars. It's so cute. It makes R2D2 and C3P0 sound bite noises. We played this over the break too. We were really channeling our inner child.
I spent most of my break organizing and cleaning. I have sent so many bags to Goodwill. I'm trying to make room for baby Skully, but it still feels so cramped and crowded in the apartment. It's a work in progress and a bit of a challenge to find a way to store baby stuff. Anyway, my boss knows I love organizing, so she bought me a label maker! I use it frequently.
You know when you are staying home for a week, you WILL be eating lots of good food. I ordered this bread from a fund raiser, and even though it was a bit expensive, it was worth it! I tasted like a big strawberry cream cheese toaster strudel. mmmmm!
I also made me and Jes a homemade pizza. Once you taste my homemade pizza, ordering out doesn't even taste good anymore. My pizza is so loaded with toppings, you have to fork it. I put mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, jalepenos, olives, three layers of cheese, and pepperoni. My mouth is watering just looking at the picture.
Everyone keeps asking me if I have had any weird pregnancy cravings. I have had cravings, but I wouldn't say they were "weird." Jalepeno Cheetos and bean dip is a normal junk food, right? haha Well, i did have a weird craving one night. I took some sliced bananas, rolled them in lime juice, rolled them in a mixture of coconut, salted peanuts, and cinnamon, then fried them in coconut oil. While they were frying, I drizzled honey on top to give it a nice crust. They were SO GOOD. It hit the spot. I think this is a good alternative to having a banana split. It killed my sweet tooth, and it was guilt free.
I had such fantastic break. I don't think I left the apartment once after our Olive Garden date. haha It was nice! I stayed home on those rainy cold days, in my fuzzy PJ's, drinking hot tea, cuddled up next to my puppy, watching movies, playing video and board games, trading massages on each other, and doing crafts.
I think Winnie had enough of my cuddles and kisses this day though. hahah
This picture of Winnie sums up entirely what Jesse and I did over the break: slept, lounged, relaxed, and lazed. We slept in til noon almost everyday, and stayed up late playing. It was nice to have one last week of US time. I don't imagine we will have any more weeks like this for a while, especially after baby is born.
Yay! I love reading and catching up! I need you to make me some pizza! hehe
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