Positive Thinking

I could complain about piddly things going on in my life like students going berserk 3 days before Christmas vacation, dogs peeing on the floor, cats throwing up on the carpet, 3 and 5 year old kids getting on my last nerve, the fox I hit on the road that made me cry whilst taking out a big chunk of my car.

I could complain.

But I won't.

Instead, let me share some positives from the day.

1. A custodian from school brought cookies for Cole and Claire, left over from her grandson's birthday party. Have you ever seen cookies cuter or more perfect for my son?

Look at that detail! Cole kept saying over and over, "She even put a little chicken in the window." He ate all around the chicken...but he couldn't bring himself to eat it. Even he thought it was just too cute to eat.

Look how realistic she made the corn kernels!

And look at that tractor! It's like Johnny Tractor right out of the pages of the books I read every.single.night. Not that I'm complaining. See? Keepin' it positive.

2. One of my students gave me a hand-made blanket for Christmas. How awesome is that?! I love a good blanket and this one is even softer and more snuggly in person.

I won't even complain that my husband has already claimed it as his own. I won't. I won't do it.


3. My super adorable son, while talkative, sneaky, and at times, a real stinker...is also a fantastic artist. Okay, this might just be the proud momma talking. But, look at this drawing!

One tractor with a disc, another tractor with a hay mower, and look at that tree! Let's just say he did not get his artistic talent from me. Totally framing this one.

4. Despite the fact that the dogs are slowly ruining every square inch of carpeting in this house, they are (at times) rather cute. (Not complaining.) Bear is getting older and often moves slowly with aching legs and hips. Jose, while still quite spry, doesn't always get the chance to play. It was super cute to catch these two playing tug of war. And who doesn't love a rousing game of Rip the Stuffing Out of the Bear?

5. I could complain that the cranberry martini I had tonight is making it difficult to type, but I won't. Because it was oh, so good.

Edited to add: And...I am not going to complain that I had showered, done my hair and make up, and THEN found out that school is closed because SCHOOL IS CLOSED!!!!!!!!!! Oh, HAPPY DAY! SCHOOL IS CLOSED! Thank you icy roads. Thank you.

Catching Up

Don't you love getting awards? It's such a nice little treat to perk up your day. I was kindly given this award...that while super cute...is in Spanish. I assume it means something kind and wonderful. Although since I can't remember who gave it to me...it might say something mean and nasty. ;) I am passing this award on to Blarney.

I also got this little beauty from Becky at Elephant Juice. If you haven't been to her blog, you should check it out. She has weekly Friend's trivia questions that are super tough! Go play. I am passing this award on to Rhea at Texas Word Tangle!

This little cutie came from Mamarazzi. She has the cutest blog...I just love the dandelions. And she tells great stories with her pictures. I shall pass this one on to June at Bye, Bye, Pie..although she will probably never find out because I am a major stalker. But seriously...she is so freaking funny. Love her...even though I can't actually bring myself to say puffy heart love. That makes me throw up a little.

I got this cute little award from Blarney. She needed help with her son's school project so I helped her out a bit. She is supermom and took her son to a museum just to see examples of the project he was to make. How awesome is that?! If you want to see the project, click here. I will give this award to Sassy Stephanie at Our Piece of Quiet.

Could we pause for a moment and discuss these awards? I mean...who comes up with them? Who makes them? Not that I don't appreciate them...I do. I totally do. But I have seen few awards that are mistake free. Okay, the Spanish one might be okay. My Spanish is a little rusty...too rusty to remember how to conjugate verbs. But "For the coolest blog I ever know." What IS that?! And I despise words spelled incorrectly on purpose. Kreativ blogger? What's wrong with Creative? It wasn't even spelled incorretly to "match" another word like Krispy Kreme. Don't even get me STARTED on Krispy Kreme. But I disgress...

I was also tagged by Dysfunctional Mom and Shelley to share 7 random things about myself. Let's see if there's anything random left to share.

1. I have a walk-in closet that's too messy to walk in.

2. I now have a garage door with an opener for the first time in my life. And I LOVE it.

3. I have no idea what I have bought everyone for Christmas or what I still need to buy. See number 1.

4. I have never, ever watched any of the traditional Christmas movies, like It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th St. I don't have anything against them, I just have never taken the time to watch.

5. If I finish a book and don't have anything new to read, I will re-read books over and over. My favorite books to re-read? All things Harry Potter and anything by Carl Hiaasen.

6. I broke the heel off one of my new pairs of shoes after wearing them 3 times. Hmpf.

7. I am addicted to buying new pens, notebooks, planners, address books...and most recently? To-go coffee cups. I just can't help myself. When the kids were little? I was addicted to buying different kinds of sippie cups. I swear we owned every kind available.

Now I tag

Deb at Finding Normal

ChelleD at Surviving it All

Becky at In the Trenches

Kimmyj at The Cottage Cafe

Tristan at Tristan Time

Carrielt

and Denise at Sunflowers, Chocolate, and Little Boys

This ridiculously long post is now over. You are free to go.

Excuse me while I kill a certain black and white dog...

Guess how many days I have before Christmas Break...

Whirlwind Wedding Weekend

The wedding was amazing!

The kids had a wonderful time staying at the hotel. We all slept GREAT both nights. I was nervous about how the kids would do staying in a new place but ya'll were right. They were so tired they just crashed!

There was primping. 10 girls had their hair done in the bride's suite...including Little Miss.

The kids walked SO well down the aisle. Cole was in the middle in his tux with tails with a beautiful flower girl on each arm...Little Miss and the good doctor's niece. (No pics of Cole yet. Will post more soon.) Here are the girls with their new, matching American Girl dolls. How cute are they?!

The hall looked like something out of a fairy tale. It was so gorgeous and perfect down to the last detail. The head table had 48 vases of roses down the center. So beautiful!

There was a LOT of dancing...the band was AMAZING!!

There was plenty of twirling.

There was even more drinking. Well, this was just water...but believe me. With 7 hours of open bar. Oh yeah, there was drinking.

I even met some blog stalkers. Holla!

We are still recuperating from the weekend. I swear we packed SO much stuff. I am still putting things away and trying to get laundry caught up!

I will post more pictures when I get them.

By the way, can you say 9 DAYS OF SCHOOL LEFT?! WA-HOO!

Busy

My sister's super big wedding is this weekend!!! The kids, husband, and I will be traveling an hour and a half tomorrow to stay in a hotel for 2 nights. This will be the first time we have EVER slept anywhere other than home with the kids. Like seriously since Cole was born (more than 5 years ago!) we have all slept only at home...only in our own beds. I have no idea how the kids are going to handle staying in a hotel for 2 nights. Nor do I know how I am going to handle trying to sleep in the same room as the kids. As anxious as I am about that...I am totally excited about the wedding.

The church and hall are so beautiful just as they are. I can't wait to see how amazing everything will look decorated in black, white, reds, and pinks. And it's supposed to snow Saturday...making this a perfect winter wedding.

I took a personal day today to finish some shopping and prepare for our weekend. The kids were at daycare making it all the more productive around here. They will go to daycare and preschool again in the morning while I finish packing and getting the car loaded. Then we're off!

Wish us luck! I will post pictures ASAP!

These are a few of my favorite things

Merry SITSmas, everyone! I hope you are enjoying a warm, cozy day in front of the computer. I will be away from my desk from 6:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. while I am busy educating the future of our country. But, I hope you all enjoy this bloggy love fest while I am gone. I promise I will make my rounds when I get home this afternoon,

For now, please enjoy a few of my favorite things from this most wonderful time of the year.

Watching the kids play in the snow. Oh, and Picnik for making this shot even better than it was originally.

Wrestling the kids into decent clothes for the Christmas card. Don't worry, Tiffany. The cheeks are as chubby as ever. The pics in the header are last year's. Get your chubby cheek fix here!
Take 1.

Peppermint mocha. Enough said.

The annual embarrassment that is Elf Yourself. Good times.
Satellite radio that gives me Christmas music 24/7. LOVE it. I would listen to Christmas music year round if I could.

One of my favorite Christmas albums is this one.

Speaking of Harry Connick, Jr. Let's take a moment. Couldn't you just suck on those lips all day long?

Ahem.

Let's move on, shall we?

No list of favorites would be complete without some of my favorite saucy blogs. So here are a few of my favorites...in no particular order.

Blah, Blah, Blah Blog

Z's mom

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Texas Word Tangle

Shriner's House of Fun

Oh, and one more thing...