Holiday Traditions

As everyone in America knows.....retail stores and the media has commercialized Christmas to the limit!!  I want Brody to realize the real reason why we celebrate Christmas, but I also want him to have that same childhood fantasy I did in believing in Santa.  When I was a child someone would always make a small cake and we would sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.  I plan on starting that same tradition with Brody this year, but I wanted to ask.....what are some of your Christmas traditions to still remember the true reason of the season?

Thanksgiving Weekend

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Weekend.....I know we did-here's how it went down!

Wednesday: Notta

Thursday: Matt went duck hunting, then rabbit hunting, so it was just me and Brody until we ate at Great Grandma's at 5:00. I was up at 6:00 am and Brody and I were out the door by 6:45 am to head to Red Bud for a little 5K Turkey Trot that Emily put on.  There was about 25 of us!!!

Emily called me the night before and was like I got us turkey headbands......

Since I was kind of slacking in the running department I was trotting along by myself in Red Bud with that on my head!  I'm sure I gave some something to laugh about around the table that day!!  After the race we hung out at Mom's for a while then headed to Sparta for some yummy Thanksgiving food!!  Brody and Chloe had a blast playing with each other!  Despite no nap, Brody wasn't that crappy.....just really crazy!!

As tradition, Mom, Emily and Me went Black Friday shopping!!  We left Red Bud at 10:45 pm Thursday night and didn't come back until 6:45 am Friday Morning....I haven't been up for 24 hours for a very long time....and definitely not without alcohol!!  I got some great deals and am pretty much DONE with my Christmas shopping!!

Friday: I slept at my Mom's till about 10:00 am then headed home.....Brody slept for about 3 hours, but like a fool I didn't!  Isn't it weird how sometimes you are so tired, but have so much energy!  Well I decided to rearrange some furniture to prepare us to put up the Christmas tree THEN I cooked some home made egg rolls and an oriental salad!  I crashed hard by 8:30

Saturday: Matt went duck hunting.....Brody was up by 6:00 am YAWN!! We headed to Little Gym with Emma then we went to a few more stores and got our Olive Garden fix!  Santa Pictures were that afternoon and Brody did fabulous!!  Matt pumped him up pretty much on the way there, so there was no tears this year!  Saturday night we got all our Christmas decorations out and put the tree up!

Brody has already rearranged the ornaments on a daily basis and also throws his soccer ball into the tree.....ugh, it's going to be a long month!!

Sunday: (you guessed it) Matt went duck hunting....Brody slept till like 8:30 PTL!!  We didn't do much at all on Sunday....napped and dreaded going back to work after 4 days off!

How in the hell.....

Brody has always went to bed like an angel..…we've never had to rock him to sleep then tip toe to his bed nor have we ever had to sit in the hallway and listen to him cry himself to sleep.  Now that he is older he will "talk" to himself or play with his animals in his bed.  Last night we put him in his bed around 8:30 and Matt went downstairs to watch TV and I caught up with the Kardashians.  Around 10:00 Matt and I were both ready to go to bed and I went to go cover Brody up and give him a kiss like I do every night.  I went in and went to cover him up and noticed he looked white…..he was NAKED!!!  Laying on his chest with his knees tucked under him and his little bare butt in the air!  I went in the kitchen and told Matt "Brody is naked!!"  He was like "what…."  I hysterically laughed A LOT…..how in the hell did that happen!?!?!  Apparently he just undressed himself and even took off his diaper like underwear and went to bed! 

Never a dull moment at our house!!

Confessions

I confess that this bad boy came yesterday to complete Brody's over priced Christmas outfit this year!! When I told Matt how much the outfit cost, of course he was like "Sarah....blah blah (honestly I blocked him out)"  But really his Thanksgiving, school picture AND family picture outfit cost me ZERO!! The pants were a yard sale and my mom bought the sweater!

I confess that I don't like that Matt reads my blogs, because then I can't tell you guys what I really all bought last Saturday during the sister shopping trip....let me just say my new favorite store is the Limited!!  I never really shopped there before because I thought it was expensive and I'm a tight ass, but really it's not that much more than NY&CO where I usually shop.  They had some amazing deals....buy one get one 50% off sweaters PLUS $10 off coupon.  Right now they have buy one get one FREE jeans!  They fit like a glove and they are long enough for me to wear heels with AND the smaller of the 2 sizes I'm between fit.....mega love them more now!!!

I confess that I'm really starting to like my job again....I mean what was I complaining about: I don't have to go in until 10, (so I get like 3 hours with Brody in the mornings), I get to wear jeans, we usually drink wine everyday, when I go on errands I can do my personal errands too....I was just in a funk I guess.  Prada does bitch at me (but he bitches and yells at everyone) and makes me do bull shirt errands, but I'm getting paid for mileage and it gets me out of the office!

I confess that I have ZERO plans on Sunday and I'm keeping it that way....I'm so excited about it I could scream!  Maybe I'll try to make something from my recipes board! 

I confess that I clean every Friday and secretly look forward to it, but I'm really thinking about having someone come to my house like once a month and do a deep clean, but I just clean the surface - oops!

I confess that I've went to Mokka 4 days this week for a $3.89 coffee.....um maybe I should put a latte maker on my Christmas List!!

This, That and The Other #2

Whoo Hoo ..... a whole week hasn't gone by since my last post!  (I was getting worried)  So here are some odds and ends that have been going on at the Blind household!

Saturday Emily and I went shopping!  Ahhhh, it was great-just the 2 of us!  Brody hung out with Mom and they had lunch at Steak n Shake!

I struck a deal on Brody's Christmas outfit....not really, but it was on sale!!  I order the long sleeve button up from the collection online to go under it!

Sunday we had family pictures with my Grandpa!  He's going to 87 on Sunday!!  Good for him, right?!  He still farms and is always on the run....going to dances with his "lady friend" adorable!! 

Brody is growing like a little weed and I really wish he would stop!  The dogs stay in the laundry room all day downstairs and every morning Brody goes down with me to tell them bye.  Sometimes he wants to hold my hand on the stairs and sometimes he wants me to carry him.  Here's how our conversation went this morning:

ME: Brody do you want to hold Mommy's hand
Brody: No I got it

UGH......why does he have to be growing up so fast!?!?!?

Trying to ride his bike with a plastic Elmo and a singing snowman

Not going to well.....

Happy camper!!

I'm very happy to say I'm still doing these:

I almost gave up on Sunday and Monday, but then I got caught back up....80+ burpees in 1 day for 2 days SUCKS!!  Only 2 more days left!!

Veteran's Day

Today is not only 11-11-11, but it's also Veteran's Day.  If you recall Matt's brother Tommy is currently serving our great Country in Afghanistan.  He's been over there since May and hopefully will get to come home at the end of December for leave.  We think of him often and pray for his safe return.

Thank you PFC Goetting for all that you are doing for us!!!

Oh My Hair.....

So tonight was my hair appointment and I listened to ALL of you and did a longer version of the short cut-it's cute and I love it!  As most of us know Heather hit 30 followers so we got to see her mullet (it sure was sweet, too) when she was a kid.  It made me think of all of my hairstyles as a child.....oh boy oh boy!

The Fro....(nice socks Josh) 

The Mullet (I guess everyone rocked the mullet at some point in their life!!)

I don't even know....looks like a duck tail

Poodle Perm

The triangle

My fav.....the one curl bang!!!

Maybe next time I'll share just how many colors my hair has been.....it's a blessing I'm not bald!!

TURKEY DAY 5K

Hello Blogger World!  I'm Emily Zeiger...lovely sister of Sarah Blind.  I'm guest blogging today to share my Thanksgiving Day idea with you all.  I did post about it on FB so forgive me if you're seeing this for the 2nd time.

Originally I was going to sign up for the Great Gobble Gallop 5K at the Monroe County YMCA on Thanksgiving Day (good way to start a day when you know you're going to be eating ALOT).  Sarah and I are going to Chicago the weekend after for the Santa Hustle so I opted to save my monies for SHOPPING!!  Sooo...here's my idea:  What about having our own 5K in Red Bud?

Of course, this will be totally casual, non-competitive and pretty "thrown together" since it's only 2 weeks away.  My thought was to meet somewhere in Red Bud:  IGA, the High School lot, The Office, etc. (something centralized) and run/walk the streets of Red Bud.  I might go so far as to find some cute Turkey Day headband, beads, a cute shirt, etc. to be festive. 

What do you say?  Who's with me?  I know Thanksgiving is a busy day and you're either cooking, working or traveling to 2-5 houses that day but this is a quick way to get a good workout in before you inhale turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie (ahhh...I can feel myself gaining weight already). 

Let me know if you're interested.  I'll map out a flat, 3.1 mile course through town.  Come one, come all...strollers, pets, runners, walkers!!

Further details to follow as the YES replies come in!!  =)

Shop for Christmas with Beauti Control

Stumped on what to get your kid's teachers or co-workers this year!  I have just the gift!!  I usually stick with a Bath & Body Works candle or hand lotion, but what if they don't like the scent you chose for them?  While most of the Bath & Body Works stuff smells great, not everyone may share your opinion!  Here are my suggestions.....it's what I'm going to use anyways for Brody's teachers!

Beauti Control Manicure Extreme Repair Hand Creme $15.00

The skin on your hands is especially susceptible to damage. That's why we've created BC Spa Manicure Extreme Repair Hand Creme. With this amazing product, you can soften and smooth your hands while delivering moisture to protect against dehydration and the signs of future damage.

Other great options are the Skinlogics Lip Balm for $12.00 or the Skinlogics Lip Apeel for $22.00. You can also check out the Gifts section on Beauti Control and choose what you want to spend and all the work is done for you.  

Let me know if you would like to try any of the products or order for the Holiday Season!!

Extra Hour.....

Man oh man I feel like I gained 3 extras hours today instead of just one!  And according to Facebook everyone else is getting a bunch done too!  This might come as a shocker to you, but I am in the cooking mood today!  Maybe because I drank that bottle of Bellevegas and woke up with a tiny hangover and am craving some Paula Dean food!!  Brody and I headed to Wal Mart and he was amazing....it was such a treat to not have him scream and cry because he had to ride in the cart ah.....I almost shed a tear!!   This is what I all made today .... and now it's all done and I'm not even hungry-maybe because I know I used a whole box of butter in these recipes!!!

I tried this recipe from Pinterest and it says it's supposed to make 10-12 muffins, but no way was that enough batter so I just threw it in this pan.

Beer Cheese Soup!!  I have a super easy recipe and I add some baby bellas and bacon to it....YUM

These little puppies is a creation (and it doesn't involve Tomato Soup) I'm pretty sure they are going to be a hit! I mixed deer burger, baby pepperoni's and some cheese then wrapped the filling with some pizza sauce in phyllo dough!!

Stuffed mushrooms....it's covered because the person who gave me the recipe told me that it's top secret and I can't tell ANYONE, so I figured showing you a picture might give it away.....sorry, but they are too die for. And yes that is my fork because I take a mushroom then cover 'em back up so they stay warm!  LOL

The boys were outside playing and once I saw Brody running around having a blast I had to take a break from the kitchen and go play!!

I thought I would play a little ball with Brody.....well it didn't go so well.  I hit the ball and it hit Brody right square in the forehead and bounced off!  I looked and Matt and he just shook his head .... OMG I felt horrible!!  Matt told Brody that's why mommies don't play sports!

The boys went to the gas station to pick up some sodas....Brody is in HEAVEN when he gets to ride in that truck!!  His little feet are always kicking and he has the biggest smile on his face!

Bye Bye, Mommy!!!

 So now both boys are sleeping, laundry is almost done, your caught up on what we did this weekend and I have to do 2 days worth of burpees ..... UGH that's 73!!  That's what I get for slacking yesterday!!

Happy Happy to Emmy

Saturday was Emily's Happy Happy!!  She was 28 years young!!  =)  She went Brody's Little Gym class with us and couldn't believe how Brody runs around the ENTIRE time!!

Next we went to a few places in the Mall then headed to Fenton where Emily got some new shoes......well she took FOREVER (kidding) and Brody was beyond his limited so we headed home for nap time!  =)  Mom hung out for a while until my deer slinger (yes Matt got another deer Saturday morning....this makes 3 so far) came home to watch Brody while Mom and I headed to the winery for Emily's birthday!  We went to the Weingarten near Eckarts in Belleville and it was so much fun!!  They are opened until 11 on Saturday and I know I said I'm never downing a whole bottle of wine by myself....well I lied!!  I had a bottle of Bellevegas!!  LOL the first sample was good, but I just had to try the Bellevegas because I thought the name of fun!  Here are some pics of the night.....

I think they were texting each other....

Loud Cowgirl impression

Needless to say Mom drove me home I sang BEP's the whole way home....she liked it!!