The Decorations are Up

I finally brought myself to put out a few more decorations for Christmas and put away all the totes that have been sitting around the house for over a week. I hung garland around the living room doorway and added lighting and a tree to the laundry room. I figure since that is a room that we spend a lot of time in that we might as well decorate the space. I didn't put decorations outside this year because Kimba would go nuts over them...and them chew them to shreds.

That wraps up the month of November. I feel a little bit of dread already in knowing that three weeks from now, all of this stuff has to be packed back up.
I spent the latter part of the day writing notes in Christmas cards and filling out addresses on envelopes. Consider yourself special if you get a card from me. My efforts took hours.

The Story Tour

The holiday wore me out this week. I didn't realize just how tired I was until Friday morning when I got up. I was up for about two hours before I gave in and went back to bed. After a three hour slumber, I drug myself back to my feet and took a long hot shower. I had myself dressed and put together just in time to head to Nashville on a date with a lucky fella. We stopped by Mt. Juliet for dinner and some shopping.
He is a good man to tolerate the Black Friday nightmare at Target. I was still a little worn down and could not bring myself to wade through all the people to find Christmas gifts for anyone on my list. We left Target with two boxes of Keurig Coffee and soap for the bathroom.  A complete Christmas shopping flop.
We parked two blocks from Bridgestone Arena because we found $10 parking on 3rd Street. Stroker advised me to leave my purse in the car since I have a tendency to forget it, so I reached in my purse and grabbed the tickets and away we went. We trudged through two blocks of beer joints, saloons and street party goers. When we got to the gate of Bridgestone I reached into my pocket and pulled out two Fandango tickets to "Catching Fire"...the movie Brooke and I went to on Wednesday night. Oops! I grabbed the wrong tickets. By the look on Strokers face he about to have a meltdown...but he didn't. Instead, we just turned around, walked two blocks through the beer joints, saloons and street party goers back to the parking garage where I got my purse and retrieved the correct tickets. Then we began our third journey through two blocks of beer joints, saloons and street party goers. We got our seats just in time for the show to begin and it was spectacular. Three hours of an amazing story with some phenomenal singers. Oh and the instruments and the orchestra were awesome. The show lasted until 10:00. It was almost midnight when we arrived back home.
Thanking the Lord for the safe travels and wonderful night.

Beyond Thankful

Thanksgiving was the typical rush around and gorge yourself Thanksgiving that it has always been. 

Don't get the wrong impression. I Love every detail of the holiday. 

I love waking up thankful to be here another year. 

I am thankful for having family to go visit. 

I am thankful for having more family to go visit. 

I am grateful for my very own little Hayes crew. 

The list is endless.  

This year I am especially thankful that our heat was working Thanksgiving morning. 

Especially since it was 16 degrees when we woke up.

The furnace had starting acting up the day before. Every time it reached the set temperature in the house, it would turn off and wouldn't kick back on until we turned it on manually.  For a while there I thought we were going to be out another big expense to the repair man.  Stroker (bless his heart) got out there on that cold morning and blew on hoses and tapped on metal pieces until it straightened itself back out. 

God is good to us. I am thankful everyday for his mercy and grace. Sometimes I just can't believe how he has blessed me with the perfect people that I need in my life.

There are so many things to be thankful for these days.  Sometimes I look around and wonder why God keeps lavishly pouring out on our family.  It definitely doesn’t go unnoticed.  And we definitely don’t deserve it.

Thanksgiving Week 2013

I had a hair appointment Sunday, November 24. I got over three inches cut off of my hair. I ask my hairdresser to give me a blunt cut at the ends because texturing just doesn't work for my hair. It just gives me longer frizz. It seems to lay much better now. While I was there, she tried a new curling tool on Brooke. It gave her the cutest big, springy curls. Brooke want to get one for Christmas. Too bad that it is a $200 tool.

Darlene and I met up at moms on Monday, November 25, to clean the bathrooms and kitchen to get ready for Thursday's Thanksgiving dinner. We spent about three hours there.

I also took the comforter off mine and Stroker's bed to have it washed on Monday. I try to get it cleaned once or twice a year, but it is so big and fluffy that it takes forever and gets expensive.

I picked the kids up from school Monday evening and on our drive home, we watched the first snowflakes of the year fall. When we got home, we found Stroker on the roof cleaning out the gutters. He had to stop before he got finished because the snow makes a metal roof slick quick.

In a single word, Tuesday, November 26, was AWESOME. The kids were at school, Stroker was at work and I was at home...ALONE. I did't lounge around all day, but I took my time and got a few things done at my own pace. To be honest, I never turned the TV on. I enjoyed the peace and quiet while I piddled around the house. We also had rain and more snow flurries on Tuesday.

By Wednesday, November 27, the Hayes House was back in full gear. The kids were out of school, Stroker didn't have to work and I had a full menu of cooking to get done. We began ththe day with breakfast at IHOP. Brookelynn helped me quite a bit with the cooking on Wednesday.

We made dressing, corn, potato salad, two squash casseroles, and a cheese danish. We also wrapped a few Christmas presents after we got the tree up. By that time, Brookelynn was tired and ready for a meltdown. We went to relax at the movies at 5:00. A well deserved break.

Feasting, Teeth Extractions and Birthday Parties

Morning came early on Sunday, November 17, we had church at 10am followed by lunch at El Tapatio with Debi and Sterl. Afterwords, I came home and got busy cooking for our church's Feast of Thanksgiving dinner that night. I made homemade macaroni and cheese, squash casserole and a cheese danish. The dinner started at 5pm. Darlene and Gary came over to join us. I think the number was 140+ that we fed that night. I stayed in the kitchen to help serve. The only downfall of that was the squash casserole was all gone by the time that I got a chance to eat. That is okay though. I plan to make more next week at Thanksgiving.

On Monday, November 18, I drug out all the Christmas decorations only to find that my most favorite wreath ever was smashed. Stroker decided to store it between the rafters in the attic. Needless to say, I was heart broken. I keep telling myself that I need to get over it, but I am struggling. By the time that I got out all of the decorations and floofed and floofed my wreath, there was no time to set anything out. It was almost bedtime. Here is a picture of it from last year when it was all fluffy and new.  I'm not even going to show you how it looks today.

Tuesday, November 19, I got this crazy ideas to make eggrolls with taco meat inside. There are two things wrong with that idea. One: I have never cooked eggrolls. Two: taco's are a totally different cuisine than eggrolls. It was like mixing Japan with Mexico. Anyway, I made them and my family actually thought they were great. To me, it was not the taste that I was aiming for.  By the time I washed all the dishes and cleaned the film of grease off everything from frying the eggrolls, another evening was behind us.

We went to Zaxby's before heading to church on Wednesday, November 20. The food was good and there was no clean up. My kind of meal. We picked up our tables at church while we were there from where we had them out for Feast of Thanksgiving. Can't believe that this time next week I will cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Where has November gone?

Brookelynn had a ballgame at Prescott South Middle School on Thursday evening, November 21. I got in a nap before time to pick her up. I'm already worn down and the holidays are not even in full swing yet.

I went to check Brookelynn out of school at 9:45 on Friday, November 22. She had no idea why I was there. Maybe I am a mean parent for keeping it a secret, but I just didn't want her to worry about getting four bicuspids pulled today. Her appointment was at 10:40, so we went for a good meal at Cracker Barrel before heading to the dentist. She was a little upset with me to say the least. She done a great job of being brave. Dr. Bryant got all four out without any hiccups.

Jett's birthday party was on Saturday, November 23. He had a Dispicable Me 2 party. I can't believe he is celebrating 6 years old already.

Stroker got the idea that he was still young and had to pull off a Rim Hanger. He will be hurting this evening.

2nd Annual Christmas Shopping Trip

Today was a day that I have been looking forward to. It was the 2nd Annual Christmas shopping trip with my friend Maleigha.  This year, we headed out even earlier. 7:30 to be exact. We hit a drive-thru for breakfast and got the show on the road. Store after store, we came we saw and we bought. We also made time for plenty of catching up. I made it home twenty minutes till midnight. and I am beat.

Zooming Through Another Week

I went down to “Picture Perfect” Tuesday. November 12,  to get my new Christmas print framed. I am no good at picking our frames. I was so overwhelmed with all the different mats and frames. By the time I was finished, I was exhausted.

Darlene called me while I was there and asked me to go to Sam’s Club with her…so I met her there.  We browsed and shopped a little. I then had to stop by Wal-Mart to pick up the ingredients for chili because I had promised Stroker chili that night..and I did get it made around 8:30 that night.

Brookelynn’s iPod arrived back from Apple and guess what!? It was a brand new one. Meanwhile, she now has an iPhone so we have an brand new iPod that will never be touched.

On Wednesday, November 13, we went for dinner at Fazoli's before heading to church. Brooke loves Fazaoli's. The rest of us just tolerate it because we love Brooke.

Thursday, November 14, was my 3rd year attending the "Sneak-a-Peak" shopping night at Christmas Village in Nashville. It is a great time to shop because they do not allow children or strollers during "sneak-a-peak". 

 Don't get me wrong, there was still madness.  I know the number of people in the building had to exceed the fire code. 

I did find a unique gift for Brookelynn...a gum ball hula hoop

It was after 11 pm when I rolled into the driveway Thursday night. A long day to say the least.

Friday, November 15, I gave Zumba another go. This time Shanna and Katey joined me. Shanna and I were in our element...Katey not so much. I believe this is Katey's first and last Zumba experience.

It was a rough day for Kimba. She was eager to jump in the back of Stroker's truck at 7 am this morning. Little did she know that the next stop was at the Spay and Neuter Clinic.

Birthday Celebration

Brookelynn had a ball game from 5:00 – 8:30, Thursday November 7. Cheerleading pretty much consumes her most days. Stroker began catching the crud that I have been battling for over a week. The cough is the worst.

On a good note, I ordered tickets to The Story and I can’t wait to go see it. Stroker asked me about it a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked that he even looked up an event for us to have a date night.

Friday, November 8, Amy and I went to a Zumba  class for an hour. She was okay with it, but I really enjoyed it. J

While I was at Zumba, Darlene stopped by to pick up Brookelynn to take her birthday shopping.  When I got home, I was feeling my croupy cough kick back in so I dosed up on cold medz for the fifth day in a row. I tried to wait up on Darlene and Brooke to get home but I fell asleep on the couch.  Darlene is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to shopping…and she wonders why I refuse to hit the stores with her on black Friday.

Saturday, November 9, was Brooke’s birthday party day. Although two years ago she said she was done with parties, we scheduled a 1:00 party at Victory Gymnastics. Seems like each year, she has a different plan. I got up and started working on loading up the car with drinks, decorations, cupcakes etc. The party went great and was done in an hour and a half. Those kids had a great time. Treasure came home with Brooke for a sleepover too.

Later Saturday evening, Darlene and I went shopping. At our last stop before heading home, Darlene backed into a little red Toyota matrix and dimpled in her bumper :-(

Treasure went to church with us Sunday and lunch afterwords with our pastor.

Monday, November 11, was back to our Monday routine of ballgames and FAITH visits. Brooke's ball game was at Burks Elementary in Monterey tonight, so we had to make two trips...one to drop her off and one to pick her up. We got back home after 9pm.

Brooke's Big Day

Happy Birthday to Brookelynn. 12 years old today. This young lady is the most sensible person in our family. When the rest of us are in the midst of a meltdown, she is our logic. Sometimes I am amazed at her maturity, compassion and rationality at such a young age. God is good and I thank him every day for for this perfect daughter that he has given me and Stroker; the perfect sister for Devin. 

We surprised Brooke this evening with an iPhone. 

We disguised it in a toothbrush box.  

 For a second there, I thought she was never going to finish opening the box.

We ate in a bit of a rush because cheer practice was until 5pm. 

We took the girls cupcakes and drinks to celebrate followed by  El Tapatio for her birthday dinner. 

We had to be at church by 6:30. It was a busy evening to celebrate.

I'm Getting Sick

Brookelynn started out November with a sleepover at Kali’s on Friday, November 1.  It was the rescheduled night of trick or treating at Monterey. Cookeville is tomorrow night.

Saturday, November 2, was a nice day. It’s cooled off, but feels like fall. We met Darlene at her church. We took Brookelynn to Ella’s because she plans to trick or treat with her and spend the night.  It’s also the night that we “roll back” our clocks. By tomorrow, it will be dark between 4:30 and 5:00. 

We went to church Sunday morning, November 3, and came back home. I feel like I am catching a cold. My chest feels tight and breathing seems tough. The day was way too short today. I do not like this time of year. My countdown to winter solstice has begun.  

I got up with a sore throat and a cough Monday morning, November 4.  I trudged through the day. I got home and cooked dinner. Not that I felt like it, but I cooked.

I didn't feel good Tuesday, November 5, but I joined a couple of girls for "heated yoga". That was humiliating and exhausting. I seen the instructor giggle a couple of times...as we made eye contact. I don't think that I will ever punish myself like that again.