Random Dozen

1. Do you find it gross to share drinks with family? Friends?
I have never and probably will never share an entire drink with someone, but if I'm thirsty and Jason has a drink it doesn't bother me to take a sip. I have shared with my mom too. I have never shared drinks with friends like in high school or college.

2. What have you learned this year?
I have learned that people change a lot once they aren't in the high school setting. Also, I learned that the first year of marriage really is hard.

3. When do you dismantle the Christmas decorations?
This is my first having my own stuff to take down. I'm not sure when I will eventually take our little fiber optic tree down and I'm so in love with my ornament wreath that I never want to take it down, but eventually I will.

4. Something you wish to accomplish before the end of 2009 is:
Well seeing as there is only 25 minutes left in the year I don't think I can do anything.

5. How do you feel about winter (after Christmas)?
It's never too terrible here so it never really bothers me. I really HATE the super HOT summers!

6. Have you participated in after-Christmas sales?
I did go this year on the day after and but a few things

7. Do you have plans for New Year's Eve?
I'm sitting here on our couch...not fun.

8. Is there anything special awaiting you in January?
Hopefully an awesome job for Jason or I either one.

9. If your life this year was a movie, what category or genre would it be? (Romance, Comedy, Drama, Thriller, Suspense, Farcical, etc.)
I have no idea. There were amazing times including Hannah growing up and mine and Jason's relationship and there were terrible times. I guess that's drama lol!

10. How much time per day do you spend blogging? Please do not lie. I will know.
Hardly any at all.

11. Who runs your household?
We are still trying to find our happy medium...like I said the first year is hard.

12. Share one hope/dream for 2010.
Happiness and success....simple but yet so hard to achieve

Merry Christmas!

Today was awesome! I haven't been this excited over Christmas in a long time. I could barely go to sleep last night! I was up early and eventually I couldn't take any longer...I had to wake Hannah up! She walked in and saw her Barbie sticking out of her stocking and just stoof there in awe....even though she has found her like 5 time since I bought her after Thanksgiving! After emptying her stocking we headed for the presents. She was still a little sleepy and didn't realize she was allowed to tear all of that paper up! Eventually she got into the swing of things. I'm doing this post without pictures because I haven't looked at my camera yet. My photo camera died this morning after about 4 picures and I didn't have any batteries so we did a lot of video instead.

We headed to my parents' house around 9:30am and it was kind of weird having to schedule in the time to go to my parents' house and having to drive there. This is my first Christmas away from my parents and it was kind of odd but good. I have been making goodies to take to their house since Wednesday and I was so excited to have everyone try everything I made. I made French Toast Casserole, Millionaire Shortbread, and White Chocolate Fudge. The fudge was a surprise for my mom. She doesn't like cocoa chocolate. She only likes white chocolate. When we got to my parents', I grabbed Hannah, her bag, and a present and Jason was carrying all the food. It was so funny because Jason made it half way to the table to set it down and he dropped the French Toast Casserole in the floor! I tried to flip in right side up with my mind but of course it landed upside down. I just laughed. Thankfully the flood had been cleaned so we slid a cookie sheet under to keep everything in place and flipped it over and it was okay. My mom said, "If that's the worst that happens today then we are doing good." Amen.

Presents were fun because I was so curious what I had gotten. I never really told my mom anything that I thought she would actually buy but I got things that I love! I'm going to try and post pictures of everything Hannah and I received including the gifts Jason and I got for Hannah. He and I didn't exchange gifts because we just didn't want to. We wanted to enjoy our time with Hannah and focus on her instead.

Here is everything we received:






The lamp is actually for Hannah's room but somehow it was given to me with my name on it. I appreciate it nonetheless. :-) I also bought two wall hangings at Hobby Lobby on Black Friday with Mom's money for part of my Christmas present.


LOVE this table! I bought it on Black Friday for Hannah and I only paid $19! I found one the other day at Wal-Mart and it was priced $45. No way would I have bought it for that much. It is so cute and just right for Hannah's age.


This was from my mom and dad. It is probably by far my favorite toy that Hannah has ever had. It is so neat the things it does. It comes with a USB cord and there is a program online for it. You program your child's name, favorite food, color, and music. It sings songs with their name! I love anything personalized!


LOVE this! For some reason Winnie the Pooh has been the theme around Hannah since before she was born. Her nursery at my parents' house was all Pooh. I just love it. This movie is the old Pooh(not the new My Friends Tigger and Pooh) and that's why I love it so much. The new TV show is too animated for me. I love this old hand drawn animation.


We are hoping this will deter Hannah from trying to bang on my laptop.

There is probably a ton of other things I didn't put on here but these were just some of the things I was most excited about. I always like seeing what other people get for their kids. We had such an awesome day with/without the gifts!

Christmas Eve

Oh my goodness I can't believe it's Christmas Eve! I'm so excited about opening presents with Hannah in the morning. I just finished stuffing her stocking even though I can still hear her rolling around in the bed because she doesn't want to go to sleep. I think she senses that something is different about tonight because usually she is asleep before I can get out of the room.

I'm also excited about Christmas at my parents' house tomorrow. I have no clue what me or Hannah is getting and I'm just excited! I know exactly what Jason is getting because I did the shopping for my mom. :-)

We had Christmas with Jason's mom's family today around lunch. It was fun. They all loved seeing Hannah. She has changed so much in the past 2 months. (The last time most saw her was at our wedding.) I was so proud of her for being a big girl and walking around talking to everybody. I was kind of afraid that she would cling to me the whole time which she did for about 30 minutes but after that she had to get down and check the place out.

Can't wait to post pictures from tomorrow.

Am I Really Still Up!?

It is 1 AM! and I'm still sitting here pretty much wide awake. When Hannah was tiny she was a VERY set schedule of feeding every 3 hours. She was on bottles so I always had bottles set out and ready to go. She was such a good baby and barely made any noise even though she was hungry so I had to set my alarm to wake me up every 3 hours. I got very used to going to bed early and getting up early. Eventually Hannah started sleeping in late...like 9-10am. It was heaven! So of course eventually I started staying up late at night. Now my poor body is scheduled to stay awake long after it should be sleeping. It's the only time of day I can just sit here and do absolutely nothing but what I want to do...usually reading on the Internet.

Today has been a yucky day. The weather around here has been nasty the past few days and today is was finally sunny and decently warm and I had a headache all day. I hate to admit but Hannah and myself slept most of the morning away. She ate her breakfast and played for a little while but eventually we ended up sleeping. I think she can sense when I don't feel good because I was laying on the couch watching her play and she would come put her head down next to mine and just lay there. She is so sweet!

On a funny note, the other night I was making quesadillas for supper. Hannah is the BEST eater and thinks that if food is present then she should be eating it. So after about 5 minutes of her screaming and whining to be in the kitchen with the food I finally caved(I had a headache that night too) which is rare because usually I can totally ignore her if I know she is only making all the noise to get attention especially if it's while I'm in the kitchen. I brought her highchair into the kitchen and put her in it. She was heaven!

Almost That TIme

It's almost Christmas!

I'm so ready for Christmas this year! Last year I was excited about it but Hannah was only 3 months old so she didn't have a clue. (She slept throught present opening!) BUT this year she is so outgoing and curious! She has surprised me about not really messing with the trees and presents. It's been a few days since I have written but there hasn't really been anything going on. I was sick with a headache one night and went to sleep around 8:30pm. That wasn't so fun! Other than that there hasn't been anything. I'm guessing this blog business is probably more fun if A. You actually have a life to blog about and B. You received TONS of comments on pretty much every post.

Past Few Days

I haven't blogged in a fews days and even the last time I did it wasn't about anything. Hannah and I have been pretty occupied the past couple of days. Wednesday, we went shopping with my friend, Stacey. We always have a blast no matter what we are doing and poor Hannah is being brought right along with us. Stacey treated us to lunch at Olive Garden which was VERY yummy! Hannah colored on her kids menu for the first time!



She looks so much older than 14 1/2 months to me! She is just a mess too!

Stacey also bought Hannah a very cute outfit at Target and of course I put it on her the very next day. There isn't many things better than a new outfit right!?



Tonight, we went a Christmas party with people from my church. They have this every year and it's always so much fun. Jason, myself, and Hannah were by far the youngest there but it was still tons of fun. I dressed Hannah up in one of my favorite dresses and her new headband that I bought her today.







I was so surprised that she left the headband in! She took it out in the car on the way to the party but she let me put it back and then she left it....until she started playing and it's like she didn't want her fancy hair thing in while she was in the floor. Ha!

At the party we always play some kind of game and the winner gets a gift. The very last gift in a bidding game was a Santa decoration. I think it was supposed to dance and talk but it didn't have batteries. We put it together anyway and Hannah was hesitant at first but the next thing we knew she was giving him kisses! It was cracking us up b/c she would hug him, kiss him, back off and then do it all over again. It was too funny! I only had my phone so the picture isn't great quality but you can get the idea.

Random Dozen

I don't really have anything to blog about right now so I thought this would be fun to do.

1. Gingerbread: For or against? Discuss. I don't think I've ever actually ate Gingerbread.

2. Is it important to you to always stay (live) close to family? Yes! I love always having a babysitter close by!

3. Which holiday pretend character do you wish really existed? Santa!

4. Which holiday movie best represents how you feel about Christmas or life? I'm not a big fan of Christmas movies so I don't know.

5. Is there a particular Christmas song that you're enjoying now? Any that you're tired of? I like songs that catch the interest of my 14 month old like the Chipmunk song. It came on the radio the other day and she just danced and clapped away in her carseat.

6. What is your favorite way to remember those less fortunate at Christmastime? I LOVE buying and giving to other people. A few years ago I had the chance to take the money a charity had been given and buy all the gifts for certain children. I got to pick the kid and they had a list of toys, sizes, and interests. That was the most fun!

7. Does it upset you to see "Xmas" instead of Christmas? How about "Happy Holidays" etc., instead of "Merry Christmas?" No it doesn't. I say Merry Christmas but I'm not against typing xmas or buying products that say Happy Holidays.

8. How many Christmas programs are you attending this month? None

9. Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Any chance of that dream becoming a reality? No I'm not.

10. Tell me about a Christmas present you received as a child. Pics are always nice. My brother and I always received our share of gifts at Christmas but the gift that I always think about when asked this question is a table and chair set my parents gave me one year. I think it was a Fisher Price brand and it was WAY better quality than anything you can get now days. That table was probably used more than anything I was ever given as a child.

11. How many Christmas parties are you attending this month? One actual party. But I have a few family gatherings.

12. How do you keep yourself centered on the significance of Christmas? Focusing on family

Mission Failed!

I refused to take Hannah to the mall and pay $18 for a picture with Santa. Luckily there are a lot of places around here that has Santa stop by and you can take your own picture for FREE. Our co-op had Santa this morning so dressed Hannah up and headed out. I was curious what her reaction was going to be. She is so outgoing in everyday situations that I half way expected her to be fine with Santa. She meets no stangers when walking through Wal-Mart that's for sure.



I think the picture says it ALL! I couldn't believe how she freaked out! I even tried bribing her with a candy cane (it's in her left hand) but all that got me a VERY sticky little hand. I didn't even walk in and just throw her up there. I talked to her and gave her plenty of time to warm up but she was having none of it!

After the Santa issue we had to go home and grab a nap and some lunch. I think she exausted herself with all of the whining and crying. After our pitstop we headed back out to do some shopping. She was fine for the majority of the trip but by the time we were checking out at Wal-Mart, she was done!

Tonight, I attempted to make Chicken Fried Steak and gravy for supper. I didn't have much success. I bought a cut of meat that was too thick so it didn't cook good...and I'm still getting used to frying b/c we didn't fry much at my parents' house. Jason liked it but I didn't. Next time I'm going to make sure I get a thinner cut of meat. Oh the joys of being newlyweds. Ha!

Christmas Party

Tonight, Hannah and I went to a Christmas party. All of the guests were girls from my high school class. There was about 10 of us there and all but one has at least one baby/toddler. It's so weird to see how people to change after high school...mostly for the better. I took Hannah with me in hopes she would be in a great mood. She was! She was so good! I don't think I could ask for a better behaved 14 month old. I dressed her up in her gingerbread man dress. I just love it!

Slow day...

Hannah and I have really had a slow, easy day today. We got up around 10am and ate breakfast. We went to have lunch with my mom and then we headed to Wal-Mart. I had to pick up a gift to take to a Christmas party we are going to tomorrow and a few other things, of course. We are staying with my parents tonight b/c unfortunately we still haven't moved a washer/dryer to the apartment yet so I'm washing clothes and making sausage balls for the party tomorrow. That really has been it for today. I know......boring!

It's Been One of Those Days!

Good grief! That's all I can say about today!

Hannah and I headed out around 11am to do some Christmas shopping. I absolutely love shopping with Hannah. It's getting harder to do now that she can walk and grab stuff but it's still fun. I made my stop for gas and we headed out. There was a crazy storm here last night so I was looking at all of the water.

This was water on both sides of the road...yesterday those were empty fields! (No I did not take this while driving 50mph! We were stopped.)

Our first stop was Wendy's for a quick pick-me-up then we headed into Target. I found some awesome gifts! After Target we headed to Ross. I always prefer to use the stroller in Ross rather than buggies so I was getting the stroller out of the trunk when a lady got in the car next to mine to leave. Of course I still had to drag Hannah out on that side of the car so I started rushing myself (which I will never do again b/c it won't kill that person to wait an extra 3 minutes). In the middle of rushing I pushed the lock button, threw my keys in my bag, grabbed Hannah, closed the door, and put her in the stroller. I reached for my phone only to realize it was in my bag.......IN THE CAR! I locked absolutely everything I had with me in the car: Hannah's diapers, wipes, snack, sippy cup, my phone, wallet, and KEYS! I was dumbfounded. I've locked my keys in my car MANY times but A.) I always had my phone and B.) I was always decently close to home. NOT TODAY! I proceeded into Ross only to be told their phones didn't call out. Thankfully a lady in line heard me and offered to let me use her phone. Poor Jason didn't know what to think when I told him I had locked my stuff in the car IN HUNTSVILLE! Thankfully he jumped up and came to mine and Hannah's rescue. It just wasn't the best day ever.

Not Me Monday

I love reading all of the "Not Me Monday" stories over at MckMama. I decided to participate this week!

I did not walk aimlessly around Wal-Mart for an hour because I was waiting on 155 pictures to be developed. I would never wait 3 months before having my pictures developed.

I did not fight tears back watching Hannah watch the Christmas parade because I realized this is already her second Christmas.

I did not give up on getting a picture of me and Hannah waiting for the parade because this was the best I could get from her.

Slow, fun day...

EDIT: I just found my first blog comment from Jenna. Thank you for checking my blog out!

Sundays are always slow, fun days. It's the only day of the week that is always the exact same. Hannah and I head out to church in the morning and after church we go to my parents' house. My Mama cooks lunch EVERY sunday so we head over there for lunch and then it's back to church at night. Usually Hannah catches a nap at one point or another. Hannah wore the cutest outfit to church this morning. It was so funny that I (the Auburn fan) grabbed the ONLY houndstooth dress in this house for her to wear on the day after Bama wins the SEC Championship.....probably should have thought that through a little better!



This little girl brings so much joy into our lives! She has so much personality!

Not much....

Yesterday and today have been very slow. Jason works Friday-Monday so things are always slow around here on weekends. I did take Hannah to Wal-Mart today and buy some groceries. Other than that we just hung out around the house. Our TV died today so it has been awfully quiet too. I have noticed though that without the TV I find myself playing with Hannah more and actually doing chores around the house.

I'm so ready for Christmas! This will be Hannah's second Christmas but she was only 3 months old last year.....she slept through the present opening! This year will be a little different though. Jason and I will do presents with Hannah here in the morning and then we will head to my parents' house for brunch/lunch to do presents there. Hannah will get two stockings this year! My mom called it quits on doing stockings for the "big kids" this year. We really don't need anything. I'm just so excited to see Hannah take part in the activities this year.

It has been so fun decorating my own place for Christmas. By no means do we have the fanciest/nicest/prettiest Christmas decorations around but I'm proud of what we have. I was so excited to make an ornament wreath this year. I got the idea from several blogs and knew I had to make one! It was even better that Wal-Mart had ornaments in the exact same colors we used in our wedding(pink and blue).

Back At It!

I have really enjoyed reading tons of blogs online and have been contemplating starting mine up again.....hopefully I will keep it going. I would really like to document things going on with Jason, Hannah, and I. I've been trying to decide what to write about on the first post back and I found this Christmas survey tonight and thought it would be a good way to get back in the swing of things.

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? Neither

2. Does Santa Wrap gifts or just set them under the tree? Wrap! My parents always had matching bags for my brother and me.

3. Colored lights or white? Color!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No

5. When do you decorate for Christmas? Whenever we find the time. My parents were never very organized with decorating.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish, excluding dessert? I'm not really sure. My family gets Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner everyday Sunday for lunch so nothing really stands out.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? I love seeing my Florida family!

8. When/how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't even remember but now that I have Hannah we have to start "believing" again.

9. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Our tree growing up was always the same as long as I can remember. Colored light, tinsel garland, and tons of homemade ornaments or ornaments that somehow have meaning. This is my first year married and having a tree of my own and since we live in a tiny apartment we have a little fiber optic tree decorated with some pink and blue (our wedding colors) ornament balls. It's cuter than it sounds!

10. Snow: Love or Hate? LOVE!

11. Can you ice skate? I've never been, but I've always wanted to try.

12. Do you remember your favorite gift? I don't know about favorite b/c I love/appreciate every gift but I really am enjoying my camera that I got last year. It has captured a lot of memories!

13. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you? Spending time with my family.

14. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Well seeing that I'm diabetic I'm not really into the desserts

15. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I LOVED our Christmas morning routine. It used to be breakfast, stockings, presents but when my brother got married it became stockings, presents, breakfast.

16. What tops your tree? This year we just have a little star.

17. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? I love giving!

18. Candy canes: Yum or yuck? yum