12 Days of Christmas

Things got so busy and wild that I didn't have time to post last Friday. We did so much in the last week and a half that I can hardly write it all down. So I think I'll just give a brief timeline of events and put some pictures on, and post more the next time when I'm past all the holiday rush!

The weekend before Christmas we went to my Dad's and went to the gathering of his side of the family. We enjoyed it and ATE lots of great food as well. We came back home and I had that one more week of school with that big program to finish it off. We had bonko that Monday night, band practice that Tuesday, then on that Wednesday we finally got to go to Applebee's and to see "Eragon" - it was great. Somehow or other I finished my shopping during that week and the weekend OF Christmas. We went to Christmas at my Mom's on that Friday before Christmas and had a great time visiting with my family and ATE. Saturday I shopped more and began cooking some stuff. Sunday we went to Rusty's dad's for Christmas and ATE more. Christmas Day I cooked more and we ATE and ATE and ATE MORE. Geez. After that week I felt like the Grinch in that movie where they are stuffing him with food til he's nearly unconscious. Santa came to our house in the wee hours of Christmas morning. I woke up at 3 am to the sound of Tyler and Tanner fighting. Tanner was trying to make Tyler get up and Tyler was trying to make Tanner go back to bed. But we all went ahead and got up and they opened their presents. They got tons of stuff and were pleased with it all I believe. My new keyboard came in last Friday, which was my Christmas present. And I got Rusty some RAM for his computer, a Saints shirt, a basket for his grill, and some speakers for his mp3 player Mom and Pat got him. All in all, Christmas was awesome! But it wore me out and I can't help but be glad it's finished hehehe. Some normal would be nice now. Anyway, here are various pictures from the Christmas week:

2nd Week December

2nd week December - busy week #1.

Last weekend Tyler was gone pretty much the whole weekend. He spent the night with a friend Friday night, then with another friend Saturday night. All 4 of us went to Guitar Center last Saturday and then we ate at Mazzio's Pizza in Jackson. We got Tyler a new mp3 player for his birthday and he was thrilled with it. I made 3 cakes for his birthday, plus one that Terri made. I made a chocolate cake for him to take to church Sunday morning to celebrate. Then I made 2 more chocolate cakes (one with icing, one WITHOUT icing) for us to have Sunday afternoon. Terri made a strawberry cake and brought it over - it was gooood. Keith, Angela, and Jenifer came over Sunday for football and birthday, and Terri came over with Dustin and Cody. Keith and Rusty held Tyler down and I had the honor of giving him the birthday spanking. He was really having a fit about it until he found out that it would be ME that gave him the spanking, and not Keith or Rusty. He didn't care if I did it, he just didn't want them to lol. Papaw and Mamaw came over and gave him a USM shirt and a couple of LSU shirts, which he has worn pretty much every day since. I took numerous pictures:





















Anyway, Sunday was a really great Saints game. Even I got into it.

Monday - I began day 1 of rehearsals for the 4th grade play, or as I commonly thought of it all week - my week's worth of torture and abuse. I don't know how I did it, but I survived without having a nervous breakdown or pulling out all my hair, and we actually put on a pretty cute show this morning. I spent a good bit of Monday trying to piece my home made Santa suit back together. It has seen it's better days. I made it about 3 years ago with a red sweat suit, quilt batting, and hot glue. It looked much better then. Monday night we had band practice and I was just SO tired. But we still sounded good. Can't wait to hear the new speakers and see new lights next week.

Tuesday - We had a PTO meeting that night and I had my honor choir perform Christmas music at the meeting. I usually do a play at the PTO meeting but the last several years I can't seem to get enough kids to show up to make it worth the effort. So this year I decided to use the honor choir, and to get the PTO to advertise that they would serve refreshments. I had 35 out of 40 honor choir students show up. It was great lol. I begged Rusty to let me use a real guitar for my play on Friday. Just wanted to use that little one we have that he lets Tanner play with. He said NO. It's NOT a toy. So I went shopping for an affordable toy guitar that would be suitable, and found NONE.

Wednesday - I began to get tired. lol. I did a bit of Christmas shopping that afternoon. Several times in the last week or so I have gone to a specific place to get a specific thing and I end up getting the very LAST one they have. I've been lucky. We watched a movie at home, and I didn't even cook anything I don't think. Rusty gave a guitar lesson to a friend of ours who just got his first guitar.

Thursday - Rusty had a change of heart for some reason, and agreed to let me use the real guitar. ONe of our teachers informed me that the PTO had a Santa suit and an elf suit that I could borrow if I wanted. Better late than never. It was much better than my old home made pieced together raggedy thing lol. We watched 2 more movies at home. I tossed and turned all night and had those dreams I always have when I'm worried about a play performance. I always dream that I have all the kids on stage and we're about to begin, but I've screwed up something majorly - like I forgot to bring the music or something. Or the kids forget the words, or the speakers blow out. Numerous things. Usually it's that I have the wrong music, or have no music at all. I got hardly any sleep and woke up with a migraine on Friday.

Friday - the big day. The play went well. My "Elfis" (Elvis) got a little shy on me though and didn't ham it up as much as I had hoped. Tanner was the ham - he was Santa Claus doing the "Twist". OVerall, I think it turned out pretty cute. I should have had Tanner be Elvis. lol. I had promised Tyler a month ago that on Dec. 15 we would go to the movies to see "Eragon". He wants to see it badly because he read the book last year. So we all set out to go to the movies in Clinton tonight. We intended to eat at Applebee's, but they were too packed so we just went to Chick-fil-a. We then waited in line at the movies for 20 minutes only to find out that the dang movie had sold out! Rusty had told me earlier in the day to reserve some tickets just in case - I said nah, they didn't even sell out Star Wars so they won't sell out this one. I got to listen to "I told you so" all the way home. And poor Tyler was disappointed, but he really took it ok I guess. Now we can't see it til next Wednesday because we're going to Dad's tomorrow, have a football game to watch Sunday night, I have bonko Monday, and Tuesday is band practice. Rusty got a Christmas card from Ebay. He's way too darn good of a customer I'll say.

Compare, if you will, the fancy PTO Santa suit and my home made Santa rag :

More pics from the play:

So! It's been a wild week! And it's just beginning! lol. Tomorrow morning me and the kids are headed to Dad's, then to a get together of his side of the family. Then Sunday we'll be driving back home. Next week at work I"ll be putting together the big hour and a half singalong for the last day of school, which is Thursday. I think next Friday morning I might get some sleep. And might get to finish my shopping that afternoon I hope.

1st Week December

Last Friday night we ended up going to see the old band (the one Rusty used to be in) play at a local bar. We had a pretty good time I guess, came home by midnight cuz we were tired. I did take some pictures though. Just felt like I was supposed to I guess, since I used to take hundreds and hundreds of them lol. Steve has shaved the sides of his head. Almost like a mohawk kinda thing. But other than that, just the same old guys, same old thing.

















Saturday I took my honor choir to the radio station competition. They did a pretty good job, but we didn't win lol. We spent most of Saturday night working on a song that was giving me fits trying to figure it out. ARgh. Finally finished it Sunday night. Sunday we did the usual football thing here at the house with Keith and Angela and Jenifer.
Monday night we had band practice, and ended up staying there kinda late. But it was fun, and we are still sounding great. To me anyway. Practice seems to keep getting longer.
Tuesday and Wednesday seem to be just regular old days, I don't remember anything especially noteworthy except one of those nights we did watch Superman.
Thursday was Rusty's birthday and we had a great day. We bought him an external hard drive to put all his music cd's on, and I also ordered him a couple of Nightwish Cd's he's been wanting. I made him a hot fudge cake, and we ate Chinese food from the Wok. His dad and stepmom came by to tell him happy birthday, and also brought another loaf of that home made bread! Tanner and I began our Christmas Village we've been talking about doing. We're gonna add pieces to it every year. Forever I guess. I've always wanted to do it, just never have gotten around to it. Here is a picture of our starting village:

Also, this is what a 42 year old man in his new robe looks like:

It has gotten EXTREMELY cold this week. Yeesh! Tyler is at someone's birthday party tonight. Tyler's birthday is Sunday and he's gonna do some celebrating at church I think. Then we'll probably have some cake and stuff for him here too. He's going to be 15! Holy cow! Not ready for that. Rusty took me to eat a steak at the World this afternoon, it really is as good as they say it is. I have a difficult full week at work next week, so I'm hoping to have a nice restful peaceful weekend this weekend.

Last Week November

After posting late last time, I didn't have many days this week to post about. It was just a usual kinda week though I guess. Sunday evening Keith and Angela came over to watch the football game and work on a song or 2. Forgot to say last week that we found Tanner's glasses. They have been missing since the beginning of October. We found them in his bookbag side pocket. We had both checked the entire bookbag for them when they were first lost. Geesh! I began my Christmas shopping this week, which didn't seem to last very long before I ran out of money lol. But I will get paid again before Christmas so that should be fine.

Monday - When we got home from school, our dog came running up to greet us. Which is odd, because we keep him on a runner in the back yard. His cable had broken so he had been roaming the neighborhood for most of the day. I was very happy that he had stayed on the hill here though instead of running off and getting picked up. I ran out to Wal Mart and got him another runner cable. I discovered that I had poison ivy again from doing yardwork last week.

Tuesday - Went to bonko and had an alright time, though it was kinda out of the ordinary this time. Anyway. Rusty took the kids and bought them Taco Bell for dinner, wasn't that nice of him?

Wednesday - Went to the high school on my lunch break to take a doctor's excuse for Tyler and his English teacher happened to walk by. She kinda filled me in on the fact that Tyler has been sleeping in class and not doing assignments, etc. So he got grounded from his cell phone and the computer. He is not happy about that either. We watched the new Superman movie also.

Thursday - Took Tanner and bought him some pants because he was down to having only ONE pair. Dale came by and we didn't do much of nothing. I gave him some of Tyler's jeans that he won't wear anymore because he thinks they are too short. Dale called them "hand-me-ups" lol. I waited all night on the cold weather that was supposed to roll in but it didn't come til late so I didn't get a fire built.

Friday - Mom and Pat took us and Chris and family out to eat at El Sombrero's for the birthdays of Pat, Rusty, and Tyler. We had a really great visit and even got our Christmas get together planned out I believe. Tanner went home with Mamaw and Papaw to spend the night.


Tomorrow (Saturday) I will be taking my Christmas Choir to the Christmas Caroling Contest sponsored by a local radio station. They have sounded so good this week, it has really shocked me. We might even have a chance at winning in our division. Sunday I'm sure we're going to be watching football all day again. And the next 2 weeks at work will be hectic as I prepare for a concert, a play, and a big Christmas singalong celebration. Bah humbug! I also have Rusty's birthday next week, and then Tyler's next weekend. So, should be some pictures on the next post.