these are a few of my favorite things......

it being Christmas and all...thought i'd show you a few of my favorite things....and people.

onward we go.

in late august, my dear hub was in EARLY morning traffic, in Seattle, minding his own business when disaster struck. THANKFULLY, no one was hurt. well aside from the pride of the girl who hit him from behind.

bummer for her, she was fell asleep at the wheel, her boss in the passenger seat. 

now that's a crappy way to start a morning. 

luckily for us, she was insured.

unlucky for us, she's insured with the government. 

need i say more??

lik has FINALLY received the check in the mail to have it fixed!! 

happy new year to him! 

 our first snowfall!!!

which means that EVERY. SINGLE. piece of winter apparel MUST come out.

this is what my laundry room floor will look like until the spring flowers start blooming.

 this is Megan.

she's my nail girl.

and i adore her.

one hour, every other week, a LOT of ground can be covered. we know A LOT about each others life. (good & bad).

she's kind of like my therapist, only cheaper. since i can't afford a 'real' therapist, she's a great fill in.

i just love her.

 the Christmas lists begin. you must read this close. super cute.

 don't ask. i have NO idea what he is doing. at least he gave me a sweet smile.

 after this picture was taken, he gave me a desperate plea to help him out.

 this was taken at the tree farm where we cut down our tree. (i don't know why i don't have ONE single picture of our own family.) this picture makes me smile.

 i love the light above their heads.

it's Christmas. perhaps it could it be the star to Bethlehem???? (that was lame)

.

 using the Sunday paper ads to start their Christmas lists.

after all, "if mom & dad actually have a picture of what i want, SURELY i'll get it."

sorry children. i don't care how many pictures of i-pads, i-touches, or pictures of sandy beaches you paste to a white piece of paper, it isn't happening.



 trimming the tree.

they're usually good to help for about the first 15 ornaments then they get tired of me moving them and head out to do something else. (please tell me i'm not the only mother that struggles with this??)

this year, i went to Rite-Aid, bought a artificial tree, with COLORED lights (i'm sentimentally attracted to colored lights), and let them go to town decorating it any way they please.

i have to say, they did a great job.

plus, it's upstairs so i'm not tempted on a daily basis to rearrange.

 Sam claims that EVERY year Jackson gets to put on the star. it's true. when you're the baby, you usually get to do EVERYTHING!  (according to my oldest two).

this year we let him do it. since before we know it, he'll be off to college.

sadness. 

plus, next year he'll be too big for lik to hoist him up.

more sadness.

.

 again,sorry son but there is only ONE thing on there that your parents can afford.

it's under the tree.

it's not a gun, remote control car, a paper jam, an i-touch or a mp3 player.

shhhhhh.

don't tell him.

 jacks list made me laugh. notice the side note stating that we can get him ANYTHING.

that's mighty nice of you, son.

oh, and he's using his good manners. (take note of the 'thank you')

so...maybe, just maybe i'll get him ONE thing on his list.

good boy.

our first trip to the orthodontist.

ugh.

don't even get me started on how well Dr. Yeh and our checkbook will be getting along at the end of this! 

                                                          still, so thankful that my hub has a job.                                                             

   max AND jack will be needing work done. 

 they think this place is awesome.

video games,drinks in the lobby, i-pods, Sonicare toothbrushes,etc....

and "good news mom, it's ALL FREE!"

OK. whatever.

 we have just discovered 'Five Guys Burgers'.

oh. my. word.

be still my heart.

no really, i keep eating them and my heart will be still.

 found this sign at Grandiflora a few weeks back.

it will be mine.

 i was at Best Buy the other night and i ran across THIS!!

a Judas Priest RECORD!!!

i was never a fan of this group but still, a RECORD????

for a min., i was back in 1982.

 i had to make some sort of treat for a cookie exchange last week and i choose Corn Flakes wreaths.

i don't hardly ever see them anymore but when i was a kid, these were the BOMB!

my mouth still waters when i think about them. 

Jackson was kind enough to help me with them.

i now understand why people don't make these on a daily basis.

messy-smessy.

they are a TON of work but worth EVERY min!

making them with my boy was an added bonus!

i know i have talked before about my BFF, Kathy http://www.wubbenworld.blogspot.com/.

this past week, she showed up at my doorstep with THIS beauty!!

i cried.

it is incredibly beautiful and equally precious to me because i know she picked it out with love.

love her.

 i'm not bragging but my son's (J) basketball kicked some serious boooty last week on the court.

ok, i'm braggin.

they're good.

 thought i'd do away with the normal pictures and come up with something a tad bit crafty.

my kids didn't understand why i would want to frame a bunch of Christmas paper.

i don't really understand it either but hey, it works.

front door wreath.

from boring white to......

this.

one of my FAVORITE Christmas possessions.

 what to do with all those extra Christmas balls that never made it to the tree.

put um in a bowl.

ta-da.

 instant centerpiece.

vintage Santa's and my new FAVORITE book!

the farm chicks!!!

 and the stockings were hung but the staircase with care. and yes, sister, there's a stocking there for our cat.

shut up.

wax figures from my childhood. i used to have a set but most of them have either melted into a blob up in the attic or were nibbled away by me when i was a youngen.

that's a whole blog post in and of itself.

my siblings get it. :)

 i tried to do something different this year and do away with all the red.

i couldn't do it.

it's in my blood.

ha. ha. get it?? 

 in my blood.

blood is red.

(it was really funny in my head.)

 since i didn't have 2 cakes and a chunk of cheese sitting around, i figured I'd put these beauties to another use.

i like it.

 jack's teacher, miss Bierlink got married over the weekend. to celebrate her new life, myself and a few other mom's (lis, shannon, roseann) threw together a bridal shower for her. all the kids brought in a few bucks, lis and i went and spent it putting together a lovely kitchen gift basket for her. she loved it.

she is amazing! she was kind enough to invite ALL the students to her wedding.

even the boys were excited!! 

 finally, Christmas break!



 i just had to add this one of Sam.

he's such a goof ball.

one day while hanging out at rye's office, he dug up these glasses and this hat.

honestly, he's SO his dad.