Christmas Break

How does time off from work go by so quickly? I have much to do on my "to do" list the next four days...we'll see how much of it gets done! I started checking things off the list yesterday by putting up Christmas decorations. I love putting them up after Thanksgiving, but by December 26th, I am ready for our house to return to it's normal look. I also organized closets and under the beds--not sure if you would call it "organizing" or "moving stuff from one place to another"--but it makes me feel better for the time being. Ironing, organizing pictures, some sewing, and cleaning are still on my list. Hopefully by Friday I will have those things accomplished as well. Christmas break is a taste of what's to come in June. It's also a sign that we're nearly half way through the school year. Yippee!! Hopefully spring semester will go by as quickly as the fall did.

New York City!!!!!

Josh and I returned home safely from a wonderful trip to the Big Apple at Christmas. Traveling at Christmas makes for insane airports--but we made it and were glad to have the opportunity to some time away. We left Thursday afternoon and made it to Charlotte in plenty of time (thank Goodness--we did not want a repeat of Boston!). We actually made it in too much time...our airplane was delayed for "mechanical" reasons. We made it to LaGuardia Airport around 9ish, finally got our luggage from baggage claim, and found a taxi to take us to our hotel. We were exhausted from a day of work and traveling--but we decided to venture out for something to eat and to explore a little bit. We stayed at "Flatotel"--I have no idea how to pronounce it but it was the perfect location and we were close to everything in midtown. We walked around Times Square and ate at Mexican Restaurant across from the wax museum. I had eaten there before--and seeing as how we were nearly starving--we didn't really care where we ate at that point. Dinner was yummy though and hit the spot! We left dinner and ventured back to our hotel for a good night's sleep.
Josh in Toys R Us in Times Square with a huge lego statue of liberty!
Me in front of the Rockettes!!
We bought some holiday colored M&Ms from the M&M store.
Josh and I at the Rockettes--after the show.
at the Rockettes--Santa arrives in NYC in 3D!!!

I woke up way too early on Friday morning--I was eager to get started and show Josh around the city! We explored Rockefellar, Times Square (some more), and ate lunch at StarDust. The food wasn't great, but the experience was! The waitors sing and dance while you are eating, so it was very entertaining. My mom and I had wanted to go last time but we didn't have time, so I was glad it worked out for me and Josh to go. We then headed to the Rockettes. The show was fantastic! If I could watch it again tomorrow, I would! I love shows, I love Broadway...this proved no different. Josh even really enjoyed it! I have been dying to go for forever, so it was especially exciting to share it with Josh.

I should also mention that it was a blizzard on Friday! It snowed and snowed and snowed all day...it was unbelievably cold! It was great fun for a while...and then it got a little old. We decided to do the double decker tour bus to get out of the snow for a little while...we rode it up to Macy's and went exploring in the 11 story department store. The escalators were hand carved by sme famous Scandanavian. (Intertesting fact learned on the tour bus) We bought two NY ornaments for our tree. I accidently dropped an ornament while in Macy's and it shattered on the floor--quite embarrassing. Only me, I know. After Macy's we took a walk back towards Time Square and decided to experience going to the movies in the big city. We went to see Seven Pounds--I have been saying I wanted to see it since seeing the previews...so off we went. After the movies, we were exhausted so we headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

Saturday I decided to wake up at a more reasonable hour. We got dressed, hit up Starbucks for some caffeine, and then went out to hop on the GrayLine Bus Tour. We took the downtown loop and traveled through Tribeca, Noho, Greenwich Village, and Soho. We got off the bus at Soho and ate lunch at Lombardi's for pizza off of Spring Street. It was delicous! It is the most famous place to eat pizza in NYC and we know why :) After lunch, we braved the cold again and strolled through ChinaTown, Little Itay, the Pier, Battery Park, and ended up at 9-11. There is so much to see in that little space so it was nice to walk around and see it all. We walked into Century 21 (a department store) but quickly walked straight back out. It was insanely busy and not enjoyable. We hopped back on the tour bus and took it back up to Rockefellar. We weren't too hungry, still full from lunch, so we went to grab coffee and hot chocolate and a dessert and then headed back to the hotel.

Josh and I in front of the Brooklynn Bridge
The tree in all her glory. Josh thought it looked scrimpy in person. It does look much larger on tv and in pictures.
Central Park. How picture-esque.
Beautiful, cold, COLD, snow!!

It was a whirlwind two days--busy trying to see everything. Central Park was so beautiful. We didn't have an opportunity to explore it due to time constraints. We arrived at the airport early (3 hours early) before our flight and the airport was so rediculous. We stood in line for forever and I was just so glad that we made it on our flight on time. It was a blessing and welcome sight to arrive in Charlotte, NC and to our cars!

Traditions #12-15...

Tradition #12...
Josh and I went to McAddenville for the Christmas lights on Saturday night. We had a great time! We hit the lights at just the right time...when we were finished driving through, the traffic was insane! We probably wouldn't have gotten home until midnight if we had to wait in the line. We got there at 5 and it was perfect. We rode through twice...once when it was still light outside, and once when it was completely dark and we could see the beauty. Let me tell you--these lights sure did beat the ol' Roper Mountain set up. Beautiful! I did take pictures but haven't uploaded...so I will do it soon! These pictures make the lights look pathetic. Sorry.I couldn't figure out which setting my camera needed to on to take good night, light pictures.
Tradition #13...
I made yummy pretzel rods dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with red, green, and white decoballs. I haven't even tasted them--but I have heard from multiple sources (Josh being one of those) that they are quite tasty! I have to go find some taller cello bags so that they can fit without sticking out at the top!
Tradition #14...
I made these delightful hot chocolate bags. I have seen these at multiple holiday markets for five dollars EACH! I refuse to pay that much for hot chocolate, some mini chocolate chips, and marshmallows...so I made my own. I used Wilton's decorating bag (disposable kind)...put 2/3 cup of hot chocolate in one bag, tied it off, then slipped it in another cone bag. On top of that, I added a handful of marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of mini chocolate chips. I then tied off with a cute holiday grograin ribbon. They turned out precious. What makes them even MORE precious--I dropped them in a snowman mug with some tissue paper. A perfect, small gift for someone! I will most definitely be doing this annually.
Tradition #15...
Josh and I went over to Kelli and Trey's for dinner on Friday night. (This will be a tradition, right??) We had an awesome time...Kelli made a delicous Mexican (Josh's favorite) casserole and we played Balderdash (a family board game favorite) and in the background watched CHRISTMAS VACATION!!!! Josh and Kelli quoted the entire movie for Trey and I. It is hilarious...even MORE funny when you watch it with friends. :)
On another note...I made a horrible mistake and didn't post in my "blogs read" back at Thanksgiving...that I read Kelli's blush and bashful baby blog. Here is your own, personal shout out Kelli. The address is: http://www.blushandbashfulbaby.blogspot.com/ Go check it out if you are in the hunt for cute burp cloths, onesies, and bibs!
Pictures to come of traditions above soon!

Tradition #11

Tradition #11...

Every year I read a Christmas novel. This year the selection was (is) The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck. I am nearly finished with the book--if only I didn't have a million other things I'm working on right now, I most definitely would be finished with this book. I hear it's a tear jerker in the end. Anyway, I always like to read a Christmas themed story throughout the season to get me in the spirit. They usually are short stories and have a sweet ending. I haven't been disappointed by this one so far...

Tradition #10...

Tradition #10...

We made a Gingerbread House last night! I have wanted to do this for YEARS and have never gotten around to buying the kit and going forth and doing it. While Josh and I were shopping on Black Friday we were in Macy's and picked up Martha Stewart's pre-made boxed kit. Last night we opened her up and did it! It was great and a tradition we will keep for sure! Enjoy the pictures... we put our monogram on the front of the house.

Notice the peak of the house with the red gumballs. We are no architects. It fell through approximately 8 minutes following completion of our construction. No worries...the walls are still standing!

Josh and Gracie with their masterpiece...like she did anything to help out! (besides licking up all the candy that fell on the floor)and me with our masterpiece...looking my finest :)
Gracie being uncooperative in our family portrait.

Tradition #9...

Tradition #9...
Here comes the Christmas Music! Oh how I love Christmas music! (i should note that I don't love hearing it 3 months before December!) I love hymns, children's kind, pop kind, country kind...all kinds of Christmas music.
Last night I wrapped some more presents to put under the tree and put on some Christmas tunes. My absolute favorite Christmas album is Celine Dion. She signs hymns, some old songs, some new songs, some duets...it's a great album. I highly recommend it!

Tradition #8...

Tradition #8..
Our Christmas Cards were mailed out today! Yippee! They are adorable. I love them! As I told you before, Sugarlump Stationery designed them--they are personal and so cute. I will post a picture tomorrow when you have already received yours in the mail. (It wouldn't be as fun if you saw them now...there would be no surprise when you opened the envelope in the mail!)
Speaking of mail...I love this time of year. I love going to my mailbox and receiving real mail (as opposed to e-mail). Personally, it means a lot more to me to get a handwritten message with a stamp then something that was typed quickly and you just pushed "send." (Not that I don't like e-mail...I do) I love writing random notes to my long lost friends and dropping it in the mail. Isn't it always fun to receive one unexpectedly?
While a christmas card isn't really unexpected...it's still very fun to receive anyway! So--happy Christmas card day!

Traditions # a lot...

Sorry I haven't updated in a while--we have done lots as far as Christmas activities...but have been too busy to blog about it.

Tradition #5...

On Thursday, Josh and I went to PF Chang's for date night and then headed on over to Lowe's to pick up our Christmas tree. I was going out of town on Friday and we didn't want to wait until Sunday to pick it out...so we braved the freezing cold and the somewhat rainy/damp weather and chose the perfect tree. (Ok, we only looked at 3 before we chose...but it turned out perfect!) We didn't decorate that night because we were exhausted from the week of work, but we did get it in the tree stand and put it in it's place in the office.

Tradition #6...

My mom and I headed to Holiday Market in Columbia, put on by the Junior League. It is one of my most favorite things to do. I love the vendors, I love running into many old friends, and I love the time with my mom. We did a little shopping but mostly enjoyed the atmosphere and spending some time together.

Tradition #7...

We decorated our Christmas tree today! It looks beautiful. Every year adds additional joy and memories as we unpack our ornaments. Pictures can not do justice to a lit Christmas tree at night. I love our home decorated for Christmas.

Here are a few of our favorite ornaments...

Josh hid this one where you can't see it when you walk in the room. It's not one of our most attractive ornaments--but it is sentimental. One of my autistic classes made this for me last year for Christmas and I do loooove snowmen!!I bought this in Washington DC a couple of years ago. (Before I had a "V" in my last name) Do you know how hard it is to find "V" stuff?This is our annual ornament that we buy every year with the year on it. We put our Christmas card picture in each frame.A purchase from Holiday Market last year. I think it's the cutest.

Tradition #5

We watched the lighting of the tree in Rockefeller last night on tv! Oh how I LOVE NYC at Christmas time. Josh and I are headed to New York in two weeks and I can hardly wait to soak in the hustle and bustle of the city. I can't wait to show Josh around New York...and we're going to see the Rockettes! Yippee!!!

Anyway--back to the tradition--it came on at 8 last night and I loved all the music and the costumes and the build up to...TA DAAAA....the beautiful tree lights up! I can't wait to see it in person!

Last night we also are the proud owners of a new refrigerator. the one we had previously would hardly hold the food we had to eat--and it wasn't very much, I promise. We have been looking at them for a long time and we finally broke down and did it. They delivered it yesterday, which was several weeks before we thought it was going to be here, and it's awesome. It holds everything...and actually makes it look like we don't have any food! Who would've thought refrigerators could be so exciting?? This isn't the best picture (in fact it's the worst picture ever)--it's stainless steel and my camera doesn't reflect off of that too well.

Tradition #4

We put up our outside decorations--lights on the bushes, a wreath on our door, a mini-Christmas tree, and wreaths on our windows (a new addition this year). It is a time consuming task, that Josh does most of, but it's well worth it when you step back and look at the fruit of your labor when you can plug the lights in and admire the beauty! I would post a picture but that is going to have to wait until tomorrow because it is too cold to go outside right now!

Another tradition that occurs in our neighborhood is the local fire department comes around the neighborhood with the sirens and Santa on the back. It's pretty cheesy but it's fun for the kids and Gracie got to wave hello for the 2nd year in a row!

Work has been a beast already this week. I am going through ADEPT (all you teachers know what I'm talking about...) which isn't that big of a deal for SLPs, but still...it's added stress and you have to be on your toes every therapy session in anticipation for the dreaded observation. My observation came today--with my absolute worst groups--but what can you do? It's over, and that is sweet. I have another observation on Friday for an IEP meeting, so of course I will be a nervous wreck--even though I've done half a million by this point and could do them in my sleep. I will be so glad when Friday afternoon is here! We are making the CUTEST reindeer craft in therapy that I will have to share with you later...the kids are quite proud of their paper creations.

I had an applique class last night and I made a snowman. I am officially addicted. Forget smocking...applique is quick! (I mean, not really forget smocking...but if I need a sewing "quick fix"...applique is the way to go) And it sure is cute! The stitches are a pain and my eyes throb after about an hour so I have to do it in short spurts. I bought the wrong buttons (they were too big) so Mr. Snowman is eye-less is right now, but I will fix him tomorrow. He's too cute now not to share.

oops...it's sideways...sorry
Mr. Eyeless Snowman!

13 more days until Christmas break!!!! YIPPEE!!!!!!!