WHEW...WHAT A FAB*YOU*LESS CHRISTMAS!!!

hope ya'll had a fab*boo christmas b/c i know we sure did!

it all started christmas eve (which also happened to be the longest day in history). michael decided that he was going to chop some wood so we could have our first fire.





mom came over after work being pizza (of course!) and some cookies that she picked up at michael's that you can color. they were so cute and the food coloring markers had scents that i didn't think went that way with the cookies...lol








michael working hard on his :)







we decided that since it was still the longest day ever after cookies and pizza, that we would let the kiddos open up a present from my brother buddy (since i knew what they were) and thought that help pass the time. i have to admit i was wrong...lol


transformers the movie. i have to say this was actually good but toooooo long! they coulda cut it by about 45 minutes.


ratatouie

after movies it was time to get the kiddos snuggled in bed with thoughts of sugar plums of course!!!

now i have to admit, that when its time for me to go to sleep on christmas eve, i have a very hard time. not only do i worry about the kiddos getting up before i have a chance to, but i'm also very excited to see what santa has left for me. so starting about 4 a.m. i was up almost every half an hour. at 6:30 i decided enough was enough, i need to go get my butt on the couch with some coffee. i popped in the christmas story and relaxed. about 7-ish, i heard the first stirring of a lil one. it was mikey. i sent him back to his room and told him that i would get him in a minute after i woke up his daddy.

after everyone was up, it was time to see what santa brought everyone :)




mikey's stack!


bella's stack


here they come!!!!

now the kiddos racked up this year. santa must of only saw them when they were being good lil boys and girls {wink}. but some of the bigger things were.....


basketball and hoop. this was one of things that mikey asked for this year. i've already taught him how to play "horse" and where he needs to aim to get the baskets. he's actually pretty good. he must get that from his mommy :) i did play in junior high after all {wink}


a mp3 player for bug


hannah montana cd for bella*boo


and bella's very own cd player.

and lemme go on and tell ya, this was the bestest present that she received. bella is very much into music and has been singing and dancing since christmas morning.

want proof?







santa even thought that fritzy was a good boy this year and he got him a couple of goodies too!



once the kiddos opened up all of their presents, it was time for me (and michael ;) to open up ours.

boy was i a very good girl this year.

*******WARNING*********

I HAVE BEEN BLESSED TO HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HEAD OF BED HEAD EVERY MORNING. I MUST SLEEP LIKE A MAD WOMAN FOR ME TO WAKE UP AND LOOK LIKE THIS. I DECIDED TO SKIP THIS SHOWER AND DOING UP MY DOO TO PRESENT THE WORLD WITH PICS LIKE THIS. SO IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE MOOD FOR SOME HORROR PHOTOS ON THIS FINE DAY, YOU SHOULD JUST SKIP DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST RIGHT.NOW!!!



a food processor to replace the one that michael broke a few years ago!


the five year journal that i had been eyeballing for quite some time. simone look at how small it is!!!


match game the dvd game...this was sooo much fun. but mom kicked my ass on this!


a book on my luva! now i don't have to get into it with michael anymore :)


this book has some gorgeous pictures in it


and this lil number i cannot wait to get lost in. i have been wanting this book for months and months now. its supposed to be a book that any idiot can read and understand. i just hope that's right :)


murder she wrote from mikey


more murder she wrote from bella


and the one thing that i wanted more than anything this year. and i mean anything. i told michael if this wasn't under the tree, then christmas was going to be ruined for me.

THE DWIGHT SCHRUTE BOBBLE HEAD!!!

yes, my friends. dwight can now reside in my office!!

the kiddos were also generous this year and did some christmas shopping with nonna and picked us up a couple of things.


from mikey a lil bistro plaque to put in the kitchen


michael got a county jail


bella got me a beautiful candle


and michael a smarties dispenser. no, not a pez dispenser, a smarties dispenser. and for those of you that didn't know, he's addicted to smarties.

michael also got some goodies that he liked this year too! here are a few.


s'more tools since he lost his during katrina


a gc to harbor freight to buy more tools


and an irish book since he thinks he's irish.



whew! ya'll made it thru that hair.

after we cleaned up and got prettied up, we waited for mom to get off work and come over. then we exchanged even more presents.

i was especially excited for her to open up hers b/c me and my brother buddy went in together and got her a new camera. the digi camera my mom had was shit. you had to stand there in your pose for about 20 seconds waiting for the damn thing to take.


as you can see she was quite excited.


my lil artists framed up some of their work for their nonna



mikey also got the coolest csi kit



now on to me (of course!).

my mom got me the coolest presents this year.


some paula deen specialty salt. i cannot wait to use this.

whew!
better hair!


some lifetime dvds....this is the best! we watched one of them that night. they are sooo good! now if only i can get every movie on dvd. sorry michael. damn! i can....greta got me...errmm...oneil tivo for christmas so i might have to get her to start recording!


a vintage camera to add to my collection


a video camera from the 60's that i have been fondling for months and months at a local antique shop. damn i love this thing!!! sorry about the hoots exposure.


and the bestest thing ever! a zodiac jello mold to add to my collection. this was my mom's first ever ebay purchase. isn't it just the fabulousest thing ever????


after the gifts were done, we sat down to a dinner of homemade spaghetti sauce, ravioli, italian salad, and homemade garlic bread.

delish!!!!

after dinner mikey was finally able to shoot some hoops. as you can see in the pic, all those pieces of paper on my car are the instructions for putting that damn thing together. the box was missing them and michael had to pull them up from the website...whew! poor thing was out there for a coupla hours getting that thing together.

but i think it was all worth it!



well that's it folks!

that's the manna's christmas of 07.

hope ya'll had a wonderful time spending it with family and friends and that santa brought you everything that you asked for :)

DAY ELEVEN AND DAY TWELVE

i had planned on posting this last night, but we are having some problems with our home computer so i had to wait until today.

which is a good thing i did b/c i got some more pics to share for today.

i was so happy this a.m. when i woke up and saw this:




ahhh...the sun rising! whatta sight. for the past week or so, every morning is just a thick fog. i was glad to see this.

then after dropping the kiddos off and heading back home i saw this:



full rainbow!!! and whats funny and i didn't get a shot of it, but from the road i was driving on, it looked like the rainbow was in pink cotton candy b/c the sky was so pink. but once i got home and it was over the house like that, the sky was more blue/grey.

it was gorgeous.
i coulda stayed out there with a cuppa coffee and watched it till it went away.

okay.

now onto some craftiness.
i've been busy in the craft room playing one of santa's elves making all sorts of christmas goodies that i cannot wait to post after the holidays.

but i can show you these couple of things.


christmas ornaments for mikey's school teachers.

and....


these are going out to some special people in my life.


oh and before i forget, here are the newest entries to my december album. i really think i'm going to finish this one folks.


12/11

dontchya just love that vintage-y exercise looking paper behind the hambly. the lover*ly amber sent it to me. its perfect for this lo!!


12/12

lol...its funny how the 11th's is about exercising and dieting and the 12th's is about drinking a coffee drink...lol. but non*fat milk and no whipped cream folks...lol.

i used the bag that the biscotti came in for the "paper" and the lil cardboard thing around the cup.

well i guess that's it.
tonight will be spent making cookies for mikey's christmas party. luckily i made the dough last night and the recipe i used makes a ton and i mean a ton of cookies so there will be dough left over to make cookies for mikey's boyscout christmas party saturday. oh and making the cards to go with the teacher ornaments and i know exactly what i am going to do, just need to do them.

so how is everyone else's christmas preparing and gift making going??

TODAY I GOT A LOT TO SAY!!! (BEWARE....TOTAL RANDOMNESS AHEAD)

first, lemme say ((((BIG HUGS)))) to those that stopped by to give me advice or to cheer me up on my last post. i needed that and i thank you *very* much!!!

secondly, in case you were worried, i feel *SO* much better!!! i think that i have found the source to my moods and i'm hoping to take care of it tomorrow. not to mention that the sinus problem(?)/cold(?) has seemed to have left the building aside from leaving me with a very chesty sounding cough and severe drainage (eeewwww...tmi i know :) so that helps also.

thirdly, since the "illness" and moodiness have seemed to escape for a couple a days, i have gotten a lot done.

saturday i needed to get the heck outta this house. even though i feel like i have needed some peace and quiet, having it while you are sick and not really speaking to anyone for two days is a lil too much for me. so we decided to go run some errands and catch a bite to eat.

first we hit the coinstar machine in winn dixie. since last year around christmas time, i have been putting all of my change (and stealing some of michael's ;) into a jar to use this year. i wanted to see how much i could save in a whole year. i have never used a coinstar machine but knew that there was a fee but if you decided to get a gift certificate to an online store, that fee was waved. i thought that they would have amazon, but they didn't. so anyway, we all stood there as a i dropped all that change in with all of our guesses made before hand. michael thought that i had about $15 (there were a lot of pennies) and i thought i had around $20-$25. after it was all dumped, it showed a total of $70.79!!!!! can you believe that!!!! i got the gc for the disney store and once i got home i got a few more presents that i needed to get for some of the kiddos in my life :)

we spent the rest of the day hitting the dollar store to pick up some coloring books for santa wears a badge, going to various stores picking up a few christmas presents (mostly for fritzy...well i think all for fritzy), we hit home depot for some poinsettas (i had a coupon from homedepot.com which put the check out woman in a tizzy and ended up pissing me off. but they took the coupon (from both michael and i) and we left happy), walmart for some misc. bullshit, and then home.

once we got home we had pizza, s'mores, and hot chocolate while watching of my favorite christmas movies "home alone" and the my very, very, very favorite movie "the christmas story".

after the kiddies went to bed, i spent the rest of the night on the couch knitting a christmas present and watching law and order.

are you exhausted yet?
bored?
well hang tight i still have sunday to cover :)

when we woke up this a.m., michael made us pancakes and bacon for breakfast.
yum*may!!!!!

after that we knew that we couldn't hold out any longer, we needed to get the christmas tree up. so we spent the good part of the morning working on the tree. of course we had to get it done before the packer game....lol.


bella putting up her first ornament


silly mikey putting up his :)


and michael putting up his



and there's the final product!!! i'd love to do one of those themed trees or one of those fancy schmancy trees. or maybe even a vintage tree. but that tree right there has so many family memories and ornaments on it, i wouldn't even dare dream of replacing them. i have however, thought about getting a few mini trees to do theme up. i just don't know where i would put them.

and while michael watched the packers kick the raiders' ass, i worked on my december album. around november 30th or the 31st, i stumbled on this post from ms. ali edwards and thought it was such a brilliant idea. but why the heck hadn't i seen this post before, i have two nights to get 31 pages done....lol. well i belted out about 6 that night including the cover and back. for the cover and back i used decided to use small 45s (albums) and covered them with paper. i love though how ali used mostly transparencies.

brilliant!!!

i'll have to remember that for next year.

any*way (in my best elaine benice voice) since i have been feeling so icky, i wasn't able to work on them until today. but i am happy to report that i am all caught up until tomorrow and if i get 31 pages done and get this project completed, i will be one happy chickie!!!



cover


12/1


12/2


12/3


12/4



12/5



12/6



12/7



12/8



12/9

whew!!!

so whatchya think?

even though at first i was disappointed that there wasn't enough time to get all the pages done in advance, i'm actually kinda glad that i will be doing them on a daily basis. b/c i never know if i am going to have just journaling or a pic or both!!!!

is anyone else out there participating in this???

and so ya know, most of everything that i used so far (and what i plan for the future pages) are from the most fabulous winter kit ever. the noel mignon winter kit and the add on kit. i swear, i immediately thought of this kit when i saw ali's post. its absolutely perfect for it!!


well that is pretty much my weekend.
i've also spent a lot of time the past week or so thinking of 2008 and what i want it to be for me. i don't know if i am doing this b/c i am approaching 30 (and entirely too fast thank you very much) or if i am just beginning to "grow up". i really don't know. but i have this mental list going on of what i want to accomplish, what i hope to be able to do, how i hope to grow.

i'm gonna get this list on paper. i just have to. actually i plan on scrapping my list on a 12x12 lo and framing it and hanging it up in my craft room. maybe even putting a smaller version of it in my office. to remind me of what i want.

oh shit!

this post is so friggin' random and now i'm getting all thought*sy and such.
{deep sigh}
there isn't even a way to label this post.

:)

again, thanks for those that left me kind words and here's hoping that this week is a helluva lot better than last.

*smooches*

BLECH!

that's how i feel.
both physically and mentally.
i'm friggin' sick again with a head cold(?) and it sucks.
i also feel like something in my life has changed.
i can't explain it (well maybe i can but i choose not to here) but i know i don't like it.

maybe i'll feel better mentally once the cold part goes away.
maybe i'll feel better once i get out and do some xmas shopping and get into the holiday spirit (i haven't gotten there yet).

actually i think i'll feel better once 2008 arrives....lol.

sorry for the debbie downer of a post :(

THOUGHT I'D SHARE

i got this in an email just a minute ago and thought that i would take a minute to share with ya'll.

i couldn't agree more with every word and its funny that i got this email when i have been talking so much with some other people at work lately about how it is with kids these days. and the "presents" that they want and actually get. a 10 year old with a cell phone?

c'mon!!

my 8 year old is already asking for one and boy does he have another thing coming if he actually thinks that he is going to get one any time soon. and the damn xbox shit. we don't have xbox, playstation, nintendo whatever, hell we don't even have a regular ol "vintage" nintendo (i would however agree to get one of those for my own pleasure ;). mikey has a game boy and a computer. and a friggin' bike to go outside and ride. he has books he can go read and paper he can go draw on.

i don't know, i'm about over all the techno shit they keep shoving down my kids throat on ads and in tv.

and i don't even have cable...lmao!!

so whatch you think?



Those Born
1930-1979

READ TO THE BOTTOM
FOR QUOTE OF THE MONTH
BY JAY LENO.
IF YOU DON'T READ ANYTHING
ELSE---VERY WELL STATED

TO ALL THE
KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked
and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing,
tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.


Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.


We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets
and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets,
not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with
no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm
day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden
hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends,
from one bottle and NO ONE actually died
from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter
and drank Kool-aid made with sugar,
but we weren't overweight because,
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE
PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day,
as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.


No one was able to reach us all day.
And we were OK.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps
and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.
After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all,
no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's,
no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones,
no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms........
WE HAD FRIENDS
and we went outside and found them!


We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth
and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.


We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt,
and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,
made up games with sticks and tennis balls and,
although we were told it would happen,
we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and
knocked on the door or rang the bell,
or just walked in and talked to them!


Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.
Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.
Imagine that!!


The idea of a parent bailing us out
if we broke the law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!


These generations have produced some
of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and
inventors ever!


The past 50 years have been an explosion
of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility,
and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them. CONGRATULATIONS!


You might want to share this with others who have
had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers
and the government regulated so much of our lives
for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they
will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run
through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

The quote of the month
Is
By Jay Leno:
"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control,
mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country
from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist
attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take
God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

For those that prefer to think that God is not watching
over us...go ahead and delete this.
For the rest of us...pass this on

OH BOY!

hope ya'll had a fabulous weekend.
i didn't get near as much done as i would have liked and i'm spending the morning at work nursing a mild hangover....yuck!

last night i went with my mom to a lil work party so when you're talking open bar, it doesn't matter if its sunday night or not, bring on the crown and cokes!!!

and damn those bartenders sure do know how to make a stiff drink...woooo*eeee!