Happy Birthday Allison!!

It's Christmas Eve and today, Allison is 4 years old. I'm posting a few of my favorite pics. We're celebrating with family today. She picked out her cake and was very happy to choose the decorations. I am looking forward to enjoying the day with our family.

Jackpot!! I found my Barbie stuff

While searching for a box in our scarier than hell basement, I discovered a forgotten old bin that contained my Barbie stuff--furniture, clothes, shoes, accessories. It's all there! I stayed up late cleaning everything and taking a trip down memory lane. I remember the hours my cousins and I spent setting all of our Barbie stuff up and then would make them crazy mad when I would annouce, "I don't want to play anymore." Ha ha! We had so much stuff between the 3 of us that it would take us so much time to set it all up that by the time we did that, I had lost interest. Maybe my son does get a little ADD from me.....but I'll never tell Russ that. :) Enjoy the trip down memory lane with me as you check out my slide show.

As soon as Allison got up this morning, she thought she was in Barbie heaven with all this stuff. We don't have a doll house yet, but hopefully the one that Santa brought her is tall enough for some of this stuff! I can't wait til Christmas Eve!!

Pictures that make me smile

Dingo LOVES this rope toy and will swing it around, hitting you with it until you hold onto the other end to play tug-of-war with him. The dog is crazy!

Almost too big for Santa's lap--but he still believes! I will be sad when the mystery is over for him. It will just mean he is getting that much older.

Allison loves laying in our bed watching TV. I walked into my room the other night and all I saw were 2 eyes peering over the covers. It cracked me up.

Because one tutu is never enough....

The week in review

Does this look like $4,000 worth of damage to you?

November went by fast and Christmas is almost here. Thought I'd finally update with a few pictures, not much into talking right now. We just found out that my van that we wrecked Thanksgiving weekend hitting a deer is going to cost $4,000 to fix. Yes, we have ins and a $1,000 deductible. Santa already told us there is no room in his sleigh for a new car for me to drive. We should hear tomorrow from our insurance company whether they are going to total my van or fix it. Honestly, I hope they fix it because the thought of a car payment right now makes me sick. I've been driving a rental all week and was a little excited at the prospect of driving a car back and forth to work. I am NOT a MINIVAN MOM. I've had ours for 6 years and do not like it. We have the smallest version on the market and let me tell ya, it is not worth it. But, the joke was on me as I was given ANOTHER minivan to drive all week. An apple for an apple they said. Bah humbug I said.

Cole had a Christmas concert at school on Thursday and got to dress up for school. He had to wear "wedding shoes" as he calls them and it wasn't with enthusiasm in his voice either. He did say that several kids told him he looked nice. He did, I must say. I didn't get to attend Thursday's performance and it appears that our video camera is dead now, so I didn't get to see it afterwards either. I sent Daddy with strict instructions for lots of pictures. The joys of a working mom who DOES NOT have a flexible schedule.

Our town had a little Christmas parade for Santa's arrival yesterday. Allison went right up and sat down to talk to Santa. She's not shy at all. Cole decided he would just send Santa a letter. Both kids are different as night and day.

That's all I'll leave you with for now. Promise not to wait so long for my next post. Keep your fingers crossed that they don't total the van. As much as I loathe it, I do not want a car payment right now.

House update pics!

These pictures really don't do the new paint job on the house justice. I will try to take more pics in the morning when the afternoon shadows are not making the house look darker. We are really pleased with the improvements so far. Now, all we need is a new front door, new shutters, a new roof, a front porch that wraps around to the side with a hot tub sunken in the deck, new furniture for the deck, new landscaping, etc. etc. etc. One project always leads to another. I wish the projects would also lead to a pot of gold in the backyard to fund all these projects!

The other big achievement for us this fall is a brand new furnace and central air that was installed yesterday! We have lived here for 9 years and the furnace was "30+" years old when we bought it. Not very energy efficient. We've also had to use 3 separate air conditioners to cool the house. Not anymore! Woo-Hoo! We are moving up in the world. I hope our heating costs see a big reduction this winter.