Mr. Claus

We took Colin to the mall to meet the real Santa Claus (the weekend before Christmas). He was soooo excited to tell him he wanted monster jam trucks, specifically King Krunch, Blue Thunder and Maximum Destruction. He repeated the names while we were in line. He got face to face with the big man and froze. Ha ha. He was so nervous that Santa wouldn't come because he didn't talk to him.

Here is the mall photo... it may be a little fuzzy since Santa was kind enough to email it to me :)

Wishes

Merry Christmas

Lack of a Post

I've got nothing to blog about. I'm sorry. I didn't upload pictures yet from our Christmas celebration with Justin's family. I didn't check my hotmail account to post the picture of Colin on Santa's lap. I seriously have nothing.

I could post about my love of UPS tracking - but that is a rather boring topic (unless they want to advertise on my sidebar - then I'll talk about it up and down) - and that would be 2 posts about the good men in brown in one week and I'm not that strapped for a topic.

I could post about how I'm having Christmas Eve at my house tomorrow and I'm not even close to ready - or how I still have to wrap all my family's Christmas presents. That would resemble a blogging "to do list" and I'm not sure I'm ready to go there.

I could post about the bad weather we are supposed to get tonight- the bad weather my husband has to drive home in during the ice, sleet and snow - all 2 hours of his commute - but that makes me sick to my stomach...

I could post my New Year's Resolutions - but we all know I wouldn't keep them... So why waste time?

I guess I'll just post about my lack of posting and call that today's post.

Baking.... Kate style

We spent the whole day last Saturday baking - cut-out cookies, buckeyes and fudge. We started at 9:30am and we finished decorating at 11:30pm...

Here is our timeline....

10am - the boys making fudge - oh and by the way... Colin discovered Fluff.. he took a spoon full and hasn't stopped talking about it :)

So then... cut-outs... not quite as planned. Lisa and I made the dough Friday night and it was pretty much ruined for no apparent reason... So Justin played around with it and I started baking... Let's just say - a few were burned and so Justin took over the baking part of it too!!! 134 cookies later - we were done baking... OH and the ones that turned out! YUM... I'll post the recipe I got from a fellow blogger at the bottom...

We took a break and made homemade pizzas for dinner - yummy! I have pictures but I won't bore you with more food photos :)

Time to decorate! Lisa came over and we had so much fun....

Cookie recipe

So I got my fabulous cookie recipe from the blog www.thegoodapple.blogspot.com - ok this lady has perfect cookies so please don't compare mine to hers.

And she suggested using pudding - I used the cheesecake pudding and it tasted great! this is the recipe straight from her blog in her words :)

Cream
1 cup butter room temperature
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Add
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
Sift and add
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
Chill and roll 1/4 inch thick. Cut cookies and bake 8-10 minutes at 375*.

Some tricks I use
Cream the butter really well
For a softer cookie I will add most of the sugar but substitute a little instant pudding. For example, I might add 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar and then 1/4 cup of pudding. ( I never measure - I just eyeball it) I use vanilla pudding, white chocolate (yum) and cheesecake (my favorite). If you add to much pudding the dough will become pasty. Don't worry, your cookies will still taste good just make a note of it and use less next time.

I believe

I got a phone call last night from my mother. I could hear in her voice something was wrong. I was on the couch dying from the flu and I just had an additional pit in my stomach...

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Two people were injured Tuesday night in a crash in Gahanna.
The crash occurred at Granville Street and Hamilton Road at about 5 p.m., NBC 4reported.
A minivan and UPS truck were both involved in the accident.
One person was taken to Children’s Hospital and another person was taken to Grant Medical Center.
There is no word on their conditions.
(www.nbc4i.com)

My brother was the driver of the UPS truck and a minivan veered left of center and hit him head on going 50 mph. He is fine. I believe in angels and I'm glad he had one of his shoulder. I love you, Mike (aka Spike)!

Silly Silly

My sista tagged me... Why? I have no clue but I never turn down a challenge. And just FYI... I've done 3 of these in the past 3 days - I'm getting kinda sick of these questions.

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate - made by someone else. I am lazy and love when a mug of the warm liquid is served to me on the couch under a fleece blankie.

Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree?
Santa would never just place a present under the tree. (S)he believes that it is all about presentation. I LOVE finding pretty paper, matching ribbon and driving my sister nuts - she tries so hard to find better paper - won't happen... Sorry, Lis. I saw your selection

Colored Lights on tree or white?
White. See my tree here.

When do you put your decorations up?
The trick here is to never take them down.... But I put them up the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Oh my mom is a fabulous cook and I think about her Christmas dinner all year. I lurve her disney potatoes.

Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
Every year my Nana and Papa would come over around 10 or 11 on Christmas morning (with a trunk FULL of presents) - I remember waiting by the window.. Or the year I got Blades of Steel and played Nintendo with Papa for hours.. My absolute favorite memory was going to Grandma and Grandpa's big Christmas Eve party

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I assume my brother or my sister ruined it for me. I don't remember exactly but I do recall pretending I still believed because I thought my parents would quit doing it if they knew I knew... make sense? I still believe. If you had my parents, you would too :)

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Only an ornament from my annual Christmas Eve ornament exchange.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Red and green. Sparkly ornaments are my favorite.

Can you ice skate?
Not at all. My brother tried to teach me in 5th grade and I was so soar the next day, I had to call off school "sick"....

Do you remember your favorite gift?
Yes.

What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Family

What is your favorite holiday dessert?
(I think Lisa added this to put a picture of her Santa cupcakes on her blog) - I am not sure. Probably pie... strawberry banana - oh wait, that's my favorite dessert period...

What is your favorite tradition?
I have a lot - going to the zoo to see the lights, putting up our decorations as a family, my Christmas Eve gathering, spending 5+ hours opening gifts w/ my parents... But my favorite is when my dad is done yelling about the mess of presents in his family room, my mom puts on old family Christmas movies - I love seeing Papa every Christmas!

Do you prefer giving or receiving?
'Tis the season - I LOVE giving presents

What is your favorite Christmas song?
All I want for Christmas (Mariah Carey) and that Christmas Shoe song that makes me cry...

Candy canes Yum or Yuck?
ewwwww

Ever recycled a Christmas present?
Nope.

I refuse to tag anyone... This took way too long and nobody will even read it all the way through!

Nose

The snoring will stop. I will get to sleep without hitting him, yelling at him, convincing him the guest room bed is way more comfortable...

Justin is having surgery on the 7th of January to get rid of his deviated septum.
He now joins the ranks of Jennifer Aniston, Ashley Simpson, Ashely Tisdale, Cameron Diaz...

It's safe to say, my husband is part celebrity.

The Zoo

The Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo - recap

* 24 degree temperature

* two toddlers in wagons

* FREEZING cold mom(s) complaining (that would be Lisa and I)

* Our financial planner hosting an animal display, cookies, hot chocolate and family fun (Thanks, Craig - it was a great time) (as if Craig reads this - I know Ash will - so thanks, Ashley)

* Beautiful LED lights

* The end.

Colin (cookie on face) and Megan (cookie in hand) inside getting their free snack groove on

I had one suggestion for Mr. Jack Hanna - where is the dome? Indoor zoo - now that's a million dollar idea. I searched and searched for a suggestion box but couldn't find one.

We got a group picture on some pretty sled - of course the printer broke when it started printing my pic so they gave us our money back - but sorry - no "professional" zoo picture in this post.

I did it!!!

Can you believe I actually finished this monogram wreath?! I can't... I couldn't get the garland to stay put on my big "c" - so I went out and bought a staple gun and it seemed to do the trick..

I hung it on my pantry door for now... I think I might put it on the inside of my front door or something... it just is too big for that door.

What is missing (besides the obvious)?! It needs something and I can't think of what! Help a sista out here folks :)

is it weird that I want to wear that damask ribbon? I love, love, love black and white damask...

Oh and I'm sorry about the ick pictures - of course they were taken at night in BAD kitchen lighting!

MY blog

I always read other blogs about RUDE people... I thought I was lucky and didn't have to deal with it. Last time I checked, this was my blog and you don't have to read it. If you think it is necessary to leave a rude comment, click off and go continue to lead your miserable life.

I have blog patrol. I see who looks at my blog. I may not know exactly who you are, but I can at least see where you are coming from....

So I guess I must treat people like children...

if you have nothing nice to comment, don't comment at all.

decorating day

We decorated the entire house all day Saturday. We woke up early and Justin washed the floors for me (the last chore before we began)... Justin spent the ENTIRE afternoon outside decorating.

I cheated just a tad - the empty tree was staring at me and begging me to hang just a few ornaments. My mom and Nana give Colin an ornament each year. It reflects something about the year - last year he got Thomas and Percy the train ornaments (he rode on a train at "day out with thomas") the year before that he got a John Deere ornament (he loves tractors) - his first year was an ornament that said "baby's first Christmas".... So anyway, he saw the tractor and train ornaments and it was all over.... Justin walked inside and said "I thought we were all going to decorate the tree" - oops... I was too excited :)

my shelf - You can see my J-O-Y letters I made :)

stairs - I need more berries and apples but this will do until I get to JoAnn's again...

(imagine a picture of the outside here)

so Justin spent the entire day outside - the lights are beautiful... all white light with red tree trunks, my favorite kind of decor... We put the timer outside and came home after dark last night. We thought the timer was a dud since the house was dark... After an hour in the cold rain, Justin figured out we have to re-do the plug-in situation... So hopefully by the 24th it will be back up!!!

Turkey Turkey

We had Thanksgiving day dinner with Justin's family. His mom and dad hosted the event for the whole family.. I didn't take many pictures but here are a few...

then after a 14 hour day shopping, we went to my parent's for some turkey goodness...

my brother and my niece, Austyn

In our family, the birthday boy or girl cuts the cake and the next birthday boy or girl has to remove it - and make a wish. It was Austyn's birthday and Justin is the next birthday in January!

The end of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

The pictures tell the whole story... We attempted a picture of the four grandkids per my mom's request!

apparently pictures will have to wait...

Project

So I know this is so last year - but I made these J-O-Y letters a few weeks ago. I found some cute Christmas paper at the scrapbook store and went to work... I painted the letters green and then added the paper and a bow. I sanded the edges just a bit and last night I put them on my big ladder shelf.

Almost here

Do you shop on Black Friday? If not, I suggest you get yourself an alarm clock, running shoes and pepper spray :)

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE black friday. I can't wait to get in fights, push people, yell, scream, cry and shop!!! If you need me Friday - meet me at 4am...

She stole my shirt

My sister read my blog, went to Wal-mart and then made a "bite me" t-shirt to wear to see Twilight. Can you believe she STOLE my idea?

Anyway - here is my professional review of Twilight.

I {HEART} TWILIGHT. Great movie - loved Edward... By the end, he starting looking STUDLY! Even his bright red lipstick -

Justin was VERY excited to hear my thoughts - he heard how horrible the reviews were and wanted my professional opinion...

I told him, "I wish you were a vampire" and that was it.

I give this flick 3 out of 5 stars - it takes a lot to get a full 5 in my book...

I took some twilight quiz too -

Twilight Test from Dumb Spot!


Dumb Quizzes MySpace Quizzes & Quotes Make a Quiz

Vampires?! Really?!

So twilight comes out tomorrow. My sister seriously asked me to go at midnight. I considered the night of little sleep but decided to let the reviews sway my vote....

Associated Press:
The funny, lively banter -- the way in which Edward and Bella teased and toyed with one another about their respective immortality and humanity -- is pretty much completely gone, and all that's left is a slog of adolescent angst

Chicago Tribune:
On a simple but crucial matter of visual magic. Whenever something fantastic requires straightforward on-screen depiction, Twilight looks like a weaker episode from Season 6 of Charmed.

Entertainment Weekly:
On screen, Twilight is repetitive and a tad sodden, too prosaic to really soar. But Hardwicke stirs this teen pulp to a pleasing simmer

Not looking so hot...

To top it off, my sister wants to wear t-shirts that are handmade... When did she turn 14 again?

I guess I'll go... but I want a hot pink t-shirt that says "bite me" on it. I found one for her that said "Twerd - like nerd but only cooler" - That one is fitting for such a fanpire. Oh and by the way - apparently twerd is for twilight nerds - I googled it.

dear santa,

I am not going to ask for that much for Christmas. My list is fairly average.

These are in no particular order...

1. a new dishwasher - I took my good friend, Anonymous, advice and checked for plastic, metal, food - just about everything on the heater part of the dishwasher... nothing. I may get Vegas (the dog) outta there and run the thing and hope to get a new house with 1000 extra square feet... Haha... I am not dumb, I don't want coal this year... Muhahahahaha- no pun intended.

2. 1000 extra square feet. My 3ft son takes up more space than his father and I do. Kids come with crap - nobody told me that in my parenting classes.

3. A personal chef and nanny for the days I feel like watching reruns of 90210 in my jammies.

4. A new vehicle. The wrecked Rodeo is on its last leg. In fact, we are currently fighting. The piece of crud will be paid off in 1, 2 or 3 more payments (I can't remember) and we've put so much money into it already. The foot heater part doesn't work and I wear heels everyday - my feet are ice. The emergency brake light has been on all week and now the ABS light just came on this morning. We just got new brakes a few months ago. The squeaking when I drive is tolerable but the rest isn't. Don't get me started on my LEASED Honda. You know the one that is 3 years old (happy birthday last week happy Honda) just got new tires, needs brakes and has over 70k miles on it... I mentioned it was a lease, right? Justin driving 2 hours each way to work is gonna cost us more than he makes in a year. Perhaps if you have room in that sleigh, we'd like 2 new cars.

5. An organizing fairy to solve all of my dysfunctions. One that changes light bulbs that have been out for 3 years (in the garage, by spiderwebs - neither of us are going there). Someone that will put my summer clothes in bins on an organized shelving system in my basement. A fairy that will make my junk drawer disappear because organized people don't have junk.

6. Lipo. Need I say more?

When we were kids my mom had this terrible (if you're reading this mom, I meant to type terrific) sweatshirt that read, "Dear Santa, I want it all" - I guess that pretty much sums up my list.

If there's room, I really want a new lens for Nick Jr (everything in my life has a nick name, even my camera - my dad's camera is named Nick so that's why my camera is a Jr). I'd also like that WS bake ware, a week in the 70's not 20's, new couches and an all expense paid ski vacation). Justin only wants what makes me happy. Now get those elves to work :)

hugs n kisses,
kate

No good very bad day

I watched little Megan last night and sat the two little ones at the table for some healthy snacks (not so much... remember I'm the fun aunt).

I was making dinner and turned on the dishwasher because I'm too lazy to wash the dinner dishes by hand.

I saw smoke - I assumed it was steam. I smelled burning - I assumed it was my dinner. I quickly realized - duh it was the dishwasher trying to burn my house down...

I opened it and a cloud of smoke filled my kitchen. I have no idea what happened. Do you think this is a minor problem? I really don't want to have to wash my dishes by hand. I'm spoiled. Anybody have any suggestions?

My Randomness

I apologize for my rant.

Update: I've been removed from cookie duty already. I think my MIL could smell my fear. Whatever the reason, I am off the hook. I will still make cutout cookies and a few others for Santa...

I was making my Christmas list and decided I still want new cookie sheets... I logged on to Williams Sonoma online. HOLY expensive cookie sheet, batman. $27. For one. Uno. Is this normal? Are all cookie sheets this much? I swear my Target ones were only $6. I am VERY tempted though. It has to be some magical cookie sheet to cost that much, right? I wonder if it puts itself in the oven for me? Perhaps it talks?! "Kate, your cookies are perfect. Come get us outta here." I bet it is one fabulous cookie sheet.

So I continued to browse around the website and I found these... I HAFTA have them...

For you non Williams-Sonoma shoppers out there, they are for pancakes. Genious. Why didn't I think of that sooner? There is this whole world of cooking/baking that I didn't know existed. I must say, I think I may actually visit the store. In person. Alone. Justin, watch out... My Christmas list just got a little more interesting.

images courtesy of Williams-Sonoma

Holiday fun

I'm so excited for the big holiday season, I decided to start my decorating a wee bit early. Justin still won't let me put the tree up so I've come up with a plan to hold me off.

Tomorrow morning I am headed to every Hobby Lobby, Michaels and JoAnn's in Columbus (and surrounding areas) to make the most of my Christmas obsession.

I'm going to attempt this (but obviously a "c" instead):

image courtesy of ballard designs

if this doesn't turn out (kinda like my fabric pumpkins) - we'll never speak of this again.

Cookies

Dear faithful readers,

I had dinner at my in laws last night. My MIL can't do her holiday baking this year and passed the torch on to me. I'm scared. This woman bakes enough for the army and now it's on my shoulders. HELP. How do you bake??? ha.

So, my question - What the heck do I make? I will obviously make cut-outs and yes, I will use tweezers and toothpicks to decorate them! If anyone has any recipes or websites that are a PROVEN hit, pass it on to me!

I'm planning on baking on the 13th and 14th. So please hurry!!! AND if you want to come help, this is your formal invitation.

Baker Kate

Slumber Par-tay

I'm watching the cutest little girl tonight! Her drama momma is getting her wisdom teeth out in the morning. I'm pretty sure Lisa thinks she will be out of it for quite a while (or on a mini vacation) because she sent her daughter with a FULL suitcase and a BOX of diapers. Megan, welcome to the C family. The painters arrive tomorrow to paint your new room. Ha.

I'm typing away listening to Justin read to Megan and Colin in our bed. They are so excited when he describes all the trucks in the book. They are all snuggled in one bed, hanging on every word. Too cute.

I'm going to join the fun!

Best Buddies

Whatever

Colin and I had a great conversation in the car last night...

Mommy: Did you tell Nana to "shut up" today?
Colin: I did but I so sorry, Momma. Nana was mad at me.
M: We do NOT say that, Colin. Do you understand?
C: Whatever

At the grocery story...

C: Oh no, momma. Where's my blue race car cart?
M: Someone is using it - the store must be busy.
C: But I want it. I don't want to sit in the cart, I want to walk instead.
M: Nope, sorry buddy. You have to get in the cart because someone could grab you and run away with you and leave me really sad... (insert drama)
C: Whatever

What the... EVERY.SINGLE.THING was "whatever" last night. It was driving me nuts. I called Justin and he laughed and said Colin got it from me.... Whatever.

I guess I say that a lot. I use it as my "filler" when I don't know what else to say. I watched the election results start rolling in last night. I heard PA went to Obama and I literally turned off the tv, said "whatever" and went to bed.

Election

Did you?

Waiting in line to vote - 1hr 30min

Listening to uneducated chatter from people in line behind me - 1hr

Having a last name that begins with "C" causing me extra wait time - 30 minutes

voting for the new American President (because my vote was all that was needed) - timeless

Shark Attack

Trick-or-treat

Colin was one killer shark. He got outside, played with his trucks and then begged to take off his costume! He just wasn't in the mood to beg for goodies. After about an hour, we took off the costume and he handed out candy. He did manage to ride his tractor 2 doors down to get a piece of candy to put in the trailer. He had a great time talking to the babies that strolled up and admiring the boys in Thomas outfits! Maybe next year?!

Say "Cheese"

Happy Halloween, folks.

I took some pictures of my sister, John and Megan last weekend. She is dying to see them. I am posting them here so she can have a peak!

Oh and be honest... If you have some helpful suggestions, let me know!!

ignore the line on the bottom of the picture

Blogs

I read way too many blogs. Here are some things I've learned about blogging...

* Everyone is PERFECT. Seriously, perfect. And they are soooo grateful they are so perfect.
* A lot of people use photoshop.
* Every blogger eventually has a "give away". Trust me, I've considered this. I was going to put my doggy Vegas up as a give him away but my husband said shipping would cost too much. This brings me to my next point...
* Just about every blogger is in California, Utah or Arizona.
* They have blog awards. Seriously.
* Everyone has a "button" on their blog (I'm the blog exception - I'm a leader, not a follower)... Look on the side bars - some cute little graphic appears on these mega bloggers.
* Quiz - what is the point? I took one this morning and the Halloween candy that reflects my personality is a snickers. Thank you internet - you figured me out with just 2 questions. One of them was "what is your favorite candy bar?"

I just don't get the blog hoopla. I don't get it but I love it. I love blogging almost as much as I LOVE reality tv - btw, did anyone see what Johnny Bananas and Kenny did to Paula on the RW/RR Challenge last night? gasp. I hope they give her a heartfelt apology at the reunion. Oh and who did Paris vote off this week? I didn't see the episode and I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the bestie announcement. I don't have time for LC talk either... but really, will Heidi get fired???

ok - I'm done for today! Gotta use my time wisely. Colin has a trick-or-treat bag that needs to be finished!!!!

Letters

Dear political people,

Please stop coming to my house and leaving junk on my front door. Please stop sending me mail - really donate the stamp money to a charity of your choice. The election is in 5 days and I'm pretty sure I've made up my mind - the political sign on my lawn should pretty much tell you that - and if you come on my property to ARGUE about my vote, I will hit you with that very political sign.

Hugs and Kisses,
Fed up

Sentenced

Justice has been served.

Pray for Kerry's sweet family. I'm sure it was hard. My cousins are amazing people.

More Apples

I spent most of the day Friday making homemade applesauce. The first batch turned out great.

The second batch, too much cinnamon. It was my first attempt at applesauce and I was satisfied with the results. I even gave some away to my family, per their request.

Recipe

3-4lbs peeled, cored, and quartered apples

4 strips of a lemon peel

3-4T of juice from a lemon

3 inches of a cinnamon stick (don't use this much)

1/4C dark brown sugar

up to 1/4C white sugar

1 cup of water

Put ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Remove from heat - take out the lemon peels and cinnamon stick. Mash.

Halloween Parade

Thank you to Potterybarn Kids for having Halloween costumes on sale for parents everywhere who waited until the week before Trick-or-Treat to shop.

Thank you to my sister for dragging us to our small town Halloween parade and stuff.

Thank you to the small town costume contest judge for not picking Colin. I didn't want him to get a big head. Plus, he wasn't in costume yet. Technically, he was still in his car seat. BUT I know you could see his award winning costume from the judge's circle.

Thank you.

Florida

Here are some of our vacation pictures

Colin in front of a waterfall in Downtown Disney

We spent a lot of time playing around at the kids pool. It was nice to sit, relax and enjoy some "quiet" time!! C had to bring his trucks and tractors everyday. The other little boys flocked to him!!

The resort had an activities center - we borrowed games almost every night. It usually ended up just Justin and I finishing the games.. Let me tell you, we seriously played Candyland about 8 times - I was on a winning streak and Justin wouldn't quit until he caught up to me :)

I won't go into our Scrabble scores though... My mother always taught me if I have nothing nice to say - I shouldn't say anything at all. I swear he makes up words... Ok I'm done.

Of course, Colin sniffed out a train at Downtown Disney one night.. He rode it twice before we removed him kicking and screaming.

This is all I have time for today! I'll post more later...

Happy Birthday to me

My birthday was last Saturday and we spent the day driving home from Florida. We stopped in Locust Grove, GA to hit up the outlet mall and ended up spending the night in a hotel. I didn't get to celebrate my big birthday..

We had a family party at my mom and dad's house on Wednesday. I got home last night and had yet another party waiting for me, compliments of Justin and Colin...

(I can't get my photobucket account to work so sorry for the blogger pictures)

The kitchen was decorated and Colin screamed "surprise" when I walked in the door. Justin made me the BEST dinner ever... He found the recipe for my fav dish at PF Changs. We had some homemade brushetta for an appetizer too!!

They even bought me a small little cake. I am a cool mom and told Colin it was ok to take a little taste before we sang happy birthday.

Thanks boys for the great evening! It was a lot of fun and I loved my presents. Colin got me the CUTEST collection of tractors (not a lie, Justin let him pick out ANY present for me in the store and he got tractors)... I ended up giving them to Colin - duh...

Yellow Alert

Colin was lost at the store with my dad today.

They put out a yellow alert and locked all points of entry.


According to Colin he was "hiding in the shirts" and Grandpa found him.




My sister asked a good question, "why can't other shoppers leave if they don't have a 3 year old boy with them?"


Hmmmm... It's not like he'd fit in the bag.



PS.. I'm still too lazy to post pictures of Florida. Keep waiting...

I'm home...deal with it

We are home from Florida. Like all of our vacations, it ended on a bad note. Justin informed me on our way home we will not visit Disney World ever again, we are now Disney Land people. I hope it is just as magical. But the rest of the time in Florida was fantabulous. Oh and Happy Birthday yesterday to my beautiful, funny, great cousin, Sara.

The actual visit to Disney World was just as I had hoped. C was in awe and he agreed the place was just as magical as his first visit at 1 year old. This time, he didn't sleep through the day :) He rode his first roller coaster, fought off crazy pirates, drove a race car, fell in friend love with Donald Duck, ate yummy pizza - Disney World style, and had just a great time.

Leaving Disney World - our family convo...

Mommy: Colin, what was your FAVORITE ride at Disney World?
Daddy: Was it the BIG roller coaster, buddy?
Colin: in a dreamy voice just waiting for our question... The Monorail.

I know I don't work for Mr. Mouse, but I am a walking promotion 24/7. I can't help it, I truly love the Magic Kingdom.

And for the MOST annoying part of our vacay. I do want to explain first... I am truly a cheap, cheap person. I can't help it. I am my mother's daughter. I can't spend money - ok I can - but on stuff that I KNOW I could get cheaper, I just can't do it.

Allow me to explain, our five star condo in Orlando. How much was it you ask? How about $1 for the ENTIRE week ($216 after taxes). Yes folks, we were in the 2 bedroom villa. Check it out.
Disney tickets? $22.50 each. How you ask, stupidity I answer. We were one of the idiots that happily agreed to do a timeshare talk. NEVER AGAIN. It's amazing how NICE people are when you arrive and how RUDE they turn out to be.

Westgate Villas in Orlando - DON'T BUY THERE and don't go there. It isn't worth any amount of anything. Even cheap Disney tickets. I will say this, I HATED it. I wouldn't buy there if it was only $1. I wouldn't stay there if it was only $1. I am not that cheap.

So my first vacation post. No pictures because I haven't even opened my lap top since I got home. I'll try to get some up tonight. Then I will bore you with every magical detail - ok not so much. I'll just get some pictures up :)

Happy Birthday Katie!

My Dear Sister Katie,

I cannot imagine my world without you. You're my best buddy, most trusted confidante, and partner in crime. You get my jokes, wipe my tears, and tell me the truth when my pants make me look fat.

You get my strange sense of humor because you have it too.

You keep my deep, dark secrets.

You are my best friend.

There is no one in the world who could replace you.

Your birthday is one of my favorite days of the year . . .

the day you were born to save me from a life of just Spike and I (ha, ha)

I love ya Katie.

Happy Birthday.

Love,

Lisa