Confessions of an Imperfect Mom

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Girl Scout Christmas Party

Last night our Girlscout Brownie Troop got together w/ the Cadette Troop that meets in the room next to us, and we all had a Christmas Party. I was asked to bring 2 dozen doughnuts, so I had Arnold bring them home for me, on his way home from work. I was happy they all made it home ok :-P Anyway, we had pizza, chips, doughnuts, and drinks.. so healthy, i know, but soo good, lol! We then all got the kids all bundled up and got them to get together with a buddy and line up-- and we took them on a walk down the road from the church to this Senior Center. The older scouts had made up packets for them, with ornaments and other stuff in them im not quite sure what. Anyway, the girls handed them out and we went walking around caroling.. a lot of them came outside and listened, they seemed happy we were there, so it was a good feeling :) The girls seemed to have a good time. Our troop is usually VERY rowdy, so we were relieved that they behaved on the trip. A dog followed us the whole way out there and the whole way back, he even tried to come in the church w/ us, haha! :-P Anyway, after we got back we still had a little time to kill, so we had a lesson. Then the girls were handed out little Christmas gifts from their leaders. Then it was time for them to go. I was EXHAUSTED by the end of the night.. I had had a long day to begin with.. the kids arent feeling too well, so I was dealing with sick/grumpy kids all day. But anyway, it was a fun night. Next week we have a meeting w/ the parents about our COOKIE SALES (yay!) And then we dont meet again until Jan. 4th.

Hickory Winterfest 2009

I forgot to post about this past Thursday. There was this thing at the Hickory Square called "Winterfest." That night they keep the shops open a little later than usual, hoping to get people in to buy gifts. The whole place is lit up w/ Christmas lights.. and Santa was there, and they had hayrides for the kids. There was also a jazz band. Anyway, one of the guys in Arnolds' band.. his GF is a singer, her stage name is Ashera (i think thats the goddess of Love or something like that..) But anyway, every year she gets paid to set up and sing Christmas songs in front of the Hickory Wine Shoppe. This year she asked Arnold and this other guy in the band, Skip, to play guitar for her. So I went out there that night to see him play. The kids stayed behind at the grandparents' b/c it was COLD and WINDY that night! IT was like in the 30s i think, maybe even the 20s by the time they were done. I was in like 3 layers and a scarf and still freezing my butt off! But i went to see Hubby, so it was worth it :) They did really good.. and they seemed to get a lot of people come and watch and the Wine Shoppe got a lot of business that night, so I guess thats good. After they were done Arnold and I stopped by dinner at Ihop before we went back and picked up the kids. So it was basically a date night for us! It was a great night.. just wish it had been a TAD bit warmer ;-)

Here are a few pics I got that night..

Arnold getting ready

The Singer, Constance

Arnie, Eric, Skip-- having beers between sets :)

My honey and I in the Wine Shoppe :)

On the way to dinner-- still freezing! :)

A Few Christmas Pics

The other day we were getting ready to go to one of the bday parties and we decided to try taking some pics since the kids were in Christmas outfits. Its soo hard to get them all 3 to look at the same time, and even if they are, one is not smiling, or is crying, or looks weird, etc etc. LOL! But anyway, we got a few decent ones. I wish they were a little better, but its all good :)

Rachel in her Christmas Dress

At least theyre all looking!

Aw, Big Sister/Little Sister Love :)

Me and my babies! :)

Sunday we went to *another* Birthday Party. This one was AWESOME. Seriously one of the best ive been to. It was my friend Ashleys' daughter Kadence's party who was turning 4. (the sibling of the boy who had his party Friday night-- they were born in the same month) Anyway, Ashley did a CANDYLAND party, and she really outdid herself! She worked for MONTHS on this party.. she handmade the lifesize Candyland game board... which the kids LOVED... my kids wanted to grab at all the candy, which as mostly fake, lol. Then she had 2 craft stations set up, to make gingerbread men notepads and candy necklaces. She had an icecream buffet set up with a million different toppings. They had a candy bar w/ tons of diff kinds you could pack up in your treat box. They had a huge bounce house set up for the kids to play on. There was a game set up w/ the smaller kids with prizes. There was pizza, cheeseball, chips, drinks and other stuff for the adults. And she had little gumball machines already filled with gumballs, with balloons tied to them, for the kids' party favors! The kids also got to take home their little plastic icecream dishes with them. My kids had a BLAST. :)

Here are a few pics from the party

The handmade Candyland Board

UpClose

Icecream Buffet

The Awesome cake!

The gumball party favors

Fun Saturday

Saturday morning I met my friend Joanne in Hickory and we went Christmas shopping. I havent been out shopping in forever since ive been dealing w/ all those anxiety issues and havent done good in public. Well i was happy that i did so well.. even the big crowds didnt bother me! I guess im making progress :) Anyway, we went into Kohls first. I found a few things-- an "R" ornament for Rachel (the bigger kids already have an ornament for their names) and a few teether toys for Rachel. I also found a monkey frame for my nephew. Next we went to Target.. everyone knows how much i love Target and im shocked that i came out of there with only 1 thing-- tights for Brooke! Haha, she needed some new ones. I was going to buy some more christmas presents but just couldnt decide on what i wanted. So oh well. Next we went to the mall. We went into Spencers and I found a shirt i just HAD to get Arnold. We went to Hot Topic and I looked at all the JACOB stuff, was tempted to get a shirt but didnt :) Then we went into Jack & Jills and I got Brooke a monkey necklace. Lastly we went into Walden Books. They are going out of business actually, so the whole store was on sale. 20% off most things. I found a book for Arnold..and got a magazine for me, and a Rock Painting kit for my neice. Im sad they are going out of business, because Ive always loved shopping in there. :(

That evening Arnold and I dropped ALL 3 kids off (that was nice!) And went to a young-adult get-together at a friend from church's house. We had a bunch of appetizer foods, like pigs in blankets, sausage balls, and all that good stuff. Erica had made this AMAZING cake, it was so good! If i keep eating like this im going to gain a TON of weight, haha. Anyway, after we ate we played this game called Apples to Apples. It is SO much fun. I am a big nerd and love playing games-- id never played this one before, but id highly recommend it. :)

And surprisingly enough-- I dont have any pics from saturday! I know, i know.. everyone jokes at how many pics I take from every possible life event I can.. but I forgot my camera ;-)

Little Gym Birthday Party

Friday night we took the kids to ANOTHER little Gym party.. everyone is having their parties there lately, and the kids LOVE it. We might have to look into getting them classes there next year. This is the 3rd one theve been to this past month. This time it was for Ashley's son Maddox, who was turning 2. We went up there after Arnold got off work. The kids had a blast playing on the equipment, like usual, and seeing their friends. Even caleb had fun this time-- hes usually pretty shy! They had a superhero theme for the party. The cake was awesome... and tasted so good! This girl whos on one of my moms groups made it and she always does a great job. The kids got spiderman masks for party favors and they loved wearing those home :)

Here are a few pics from the party

Getting Ready to Leave

Brooke playing, thats Jacob behind her

daddy and Caleb

The awesome Superhero cake

Brooke, Caleb and Kenzie eating

Some great friends-Shanda, Ashley, Amy, Shannon, Me, and Kelly :)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Busy, Fun Weekend

I realized I hadnt updated this thing in awhile, so I thought i would today. This past weekened was really busy but fun!

Friday evening the older kids went to stay w/ sitters and we took Rachel and went out for awhile. We took some stuff to Once Upon a Child to try and get some quick cash... we did pretty well. Then we went to get some dinner at Taco Bell.. Arnold loves that place and ive begun to like it more and more :-P Then we went to Target to buy some formula and walked around for awhile. Then we went to Blockbuster and rented 2 movies- The Ugly truth and Night at the Musuem 2... both were pretty good movies. lastly we stopped by Krispy Kreme and each got a doughnut... I know, so bad, but soooo good :-P

Saturday we didnt do much... Arnold left for a few hrs that afternoon to practice w/ his band. They are going to be playing in the Hickory Square Thurs evening (its a Christmas thing) That evening we went to Arnold's Uncle Dwights house for a Family Christmas Party-- they have one every year. We had a good time.. they had some good food! Ham, green beans, veggie tray, casseroles, deviled eggs, tea,and lots of good desserts, yum! :) The kids had a great time playing w/ all the other kids. Rachel looked cute in her Christmas dress that I got her off Ebay awhile back.. it is Gymboree and sooo cute and I got a great deal on it! :)

Sunday morning we went to church.. we actually got Brooke and Caleb to stay in the nursery! After church we went out to lunch @ Applebees w/ the inlaws. They came out and sang to my neice Rebekah who just turned 5 yesterday. Then a little later that afternoon we went to her birthday party at The Little Gym. The kids are really starting to love that place-- theyve been to several parties there. We have yet ANOTHER one to go to this weekend :) The party was great, the kids seemed to have a good time. I ran around with the kids, acting silly. The theme was Littlest Pet Shop,and the cake was really cute.. and soooo yummy! I love cakes from Sams Club. All in all it was a great weekend. I was so happy to have a fun weekend w/ my family, and actually enjoy it-- not have anxiety and stuff. My anxiety has gotten less and less over time! :)

Here are some pics from the weekend...

The kids had just woken up from naps--they werent happy!