Oh, There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays.....aka "The Christmas Post".

It's just not the holiday season until I threaten to call the whole thing off.....

So....I finished the catering gig and it was a success for the 5th year running (even with me changing up the entire menu).  Yes, I made every single cookie, brownie and dessert for the party, serving around 500 people.  Yes, I am available for YOUR catering needs (provided you're in the Northern Virginia area, of course), and I'm not limited to desserts.  I make some pretty awesome appetizers, or so I'm told.

Santa was even at the party! For the record, he slept through the majority of the party, and when people commented on how Santa was so sleepy, I explained that it was crunch time in his workshop. 



Apparently Virginia is downright tropical compared to the North Pole...hence no boots on Santa's little piggies.

 Also, Grandma Pat came all the way from West Virginia to visit with Kris Kringle!

The first thing we did with the money Mommy made from the catering gig was go buy our rapidly growing baby a "big boy" car seat.

We finished our Christmas shopping 2 days before the big day.  To escape reality for a moment, I convinced my Hubby to try out this hurricane simulator at the mall.  It was a total letdown from what I'm told, but the look on his face when he saw that I was snapping a photo was priceless...

We had a bit of a snowstorm the week before Christmas.  That didn't deter us from getting Bobby's first official picture with Santa Claus (the life sized version, not our mini-me).

The night before Christmas Eve, we got together with the Mingee ladies (and Keira) for our annual holiday get-together.  We ended up at Silver Diner and had a lovely time.  Someone was a little tuckered out though...

It's past my bedtime....

He did, however, manage to get a second wind long enough to play with Aunt Cathy for a bit....

After a brief (and I do mean brief) moment of "rest", it was Christmas Eve.  Most people look forward to Christmas Day, but I've always been a X-mas Eve gal myself.  Church, stuffing stockings, lovingly placing wrapped presents beneath the tree, and usually watching "It's a Wonderful Life" while sipping eggnog.  It's when the crescendo is building....

This year Carol was kind enough to give me a much needed break from MY holiday madness by inviting us over to her home for Christmas Eve dinner.  Oh my, it was an epic breakfast feast!  Usually I make Lasagna for Christmas Eve (one of C.W.'s holiday traditions growing up), but after this year I think we're doin' B-fast for Dinner.  We also got to spend some time with the lovely Apricena clan, and Bobby flirted with his lady friend...

"So.....do you come here often?"

  We were the greeters at Church, which was pretty exciting for us.  We're really trying to dive headfirst into our fellowship.

I cannot believe that Christmas has come and gone.  I was up till 4 on Christmas morning.  Doing chores and watching "Meet Me in St. Louis" (mostly watching the movie).  I fell asleep at 3:45 in the recliner in the basement.  I was awakened by my little lamb at 8.  His Daddy was giddier than he was, exclaiming "It's snowing, it's snowing"!  I've not experienced a "white Christmas" since I was around 11 years old, so it was kinda neat that on Bobby's first Christmas, Mother Nature gifted him the stuff of storybooks.

We spent the next couple of hours opening presents.  Bobby made out like a bandit.  Mommy, Daddy and Grammy are suckers for that little face.  The good news is that he was more interested in his presents than what they were wrapped in.  Now I feel justified.

We had quite a spread for dinner: Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Carrot Raisin Salad, Green Bean Casserole and Creamy Herbed Vegetables.  Christian's Grandmother joined us for dinner and we were glad to have her.  She got a real kick out of watching her Great Grandson zoom around the house in his walker.  She also spoiled Bobby rotten.  I think she got him 3 outfits, a DVD or 2, 3 stuffed animals and I lost track of how many board books he got.  Suffice it to say we will NEVER run out of reading material....ever.

So far Bobby's favorite toys seem to be his Scout toy and his little driving machine.  He's clocked hours upon hours of playtime the last couple of days.  It's been nice to see him so entertained.

Now we're gearing up for New Year's festivities around here.  Company's coming 2 days in a row.  I go crazy trying to get everything cleaned, cooked and ready, but once our home turns into party central, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  I'm also doing all this whilst battling a massive head cold.  More later.  I've got to spend time with my 8 month old.  8 months.  I can't really believe it.

Lots To Be Thankful For....

Top 10 Things I'm Thankful For....

10.  Homeopathic Teething Drops.

9.    One Life To Live's theme song.  It instantly calms Bobby when he's fussy, and I've started keeping one episode on the DVR just so I have it in case of a temper tantrum.

8.  Our new Church "home".  I think we're gonna like it here.....

7.  A photogenic child.

6.  Dr. Santiago.  For multiple reasons.  Like, deciding I was going to have a c-section.  Because, honestly, anyone who knows me knows there was NO WAY I was pushing a 9.5 lb. baby who was "blessed" with his Daddy's head circumference outta me.  Also, when writing my order for my latest blood draw, she specifically stated to only draw blood once.  I heart her, and I feel SO much better about trying for baby number two knowing she's in charge.

5.  The lactation consultant, Leasa.  Thanks to her I am still exclusively nursing my sweet boy.

4.  Friends who love us like family.  Specifically Bobby's "Aunt" Carol and "Uncle" Bob.

3.  My Momma, aka Bobby's Grammy.

2.  My Hubby aka the greatest man I've ever known, who is perfect for me in every way, even though we are complete opposites.

And finally...

#1.  Duh.  Like you didn't know who was at the top of my list!


I'm glad the feeling is mutual!



It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year....

We had a quiet Thanksgiving.  Just me, the Hubby, the Bobbers and the Grammy.

I think I overcooked a little.  Like I thought I was going to have unexpected visitors at my front door that day.  Ha! On the menu:  Turkey, Stuffing, Gravy, Calico Squash Casserole, Sweet Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Rolls, Homemade Cranberry Chutney, Cranberry Sauce and Candied Corn.

Thanksgiving is cool and all that jazz, but the real holiday in this house is the day after.  That's right folks, I'm talkin' about Black Friday. We were out the door with baby in tow at 3:40.  This year, we decided to give most everyone pictures for Christmas, so we didn't really have many "missions" this time around.  Unless you count getting huge value boxes of diapers at 5 AM from Babies R Us.  $10 per box, people.  That's a bargain!

Last Sunday, Samantha got baptized.  It was kinda nice visiting my old church, especially with Bobby.  Not that he cared, but I told him about all the special events that happened in that sanctuary.  We had fun at the get-together afterwards, even if Bobby slept through the whole thing.  Plus side?  I got snuggle time with the little lady.

And oh, yeah.....I FINALLY started my baking.... last Friday.  This was due to multiple reasons.  First reason:  the heating element broke in the lower oven and we had to wait for the part to come in.  Second:  Hubby's day off was today and I wanted someone to be able to give the little angel the attention he so rightly deserves.  Third reason:  I'm just not "feeling" it this year.  I dunno, I got into such a rhythm doing the same six desserts year after year, and now trying new stuff, I'm kinda petrified it'll fail.  Which it did this afternoon when I tried to make the stained glass cookies.  I had visions of people eating the cookies and sending me the dentist bill later.  After the first batch I nixed them and picked a suitable replacement.  But more on the catering gig later.

Bobby's Mom is a Slacker....

I swore up and down that I wouldn't go this long in between blog posts again.

But I did.



Kinda hard to blog when you have this cute face staring back at you....


At the risk of sounding cliche, SO much has happened!

Let me see if I can "rewind" the past couple of weeks and hit the highlights.

Bobby's opening cabinets.  I caught him just before an entire box of straws (almost) ended up on the floor.


I think it's time to start "baby-proofing", Dad.


Bobby had his 6 month well baby checkup.  He was 20 lbs., 2 ounces.  He was 28.5 inches (97th percentile)!  The doc says he's perfect, and hearing that never gets old.  He's still nursing exclusively, which I'm really proud of.  He got 5 shots, and Mommy even got a shot.  The receptionist said that normally the kids get a real kick out of seeing their parents get shot up at the docs.  I informed her that Bobby was not at all amused that he and Mommy had matching Snoopy band-aids.

Bobby went out of state for the first time!  We made a spontaneous trip to West Virginia to visit my best friend, Jen and my Hubby's best friend, Brian.  They're married to each other, so it's quite convenient for us.  One stop shopping, if you will.  It was a super short trip (not even 24 hours), but long enough to have some playtime with Uncle Brian.

The Donahue family joined our new church, St. John's Lutheran on November 14.  We were very warmly welcomed and I'm really excited to dive into fellowship and getting to know our new church family.  I've already joined one committee, and we've just signed up to be church greeters.  Also, our little family bundled up and put on our gardening gloves and toted our rake to the house of one of the senior members of our church and raked leaves as part of "Servant Saturday".  After we left a most appreciative lady, I told C.W. that we had to make it a point to volunteer our time to help others as Bobby (and future children) grow up so that they know the meaning of helping their fellow man.

Bobby has a new girlfriend....



I wonder what "Mr. Dash" thinks about their new relationship....


Bobby got to meet his "Aunt Jacqualynne" this past weekend.  They fell in love.  It was super sweet.

I'm supposed to have started my baking for the catering gig I do every December.  Normally I have 2 or 3 out of the 6 goodies baked by now.  I keep having the same little distraction....

Election Day! Go Elephants!

Yesterday was Election Day.

Grammy had a doctor's appointment in the morning.  Bobby was so happy to see her when she got home, even if he doesn't really look it in this pic.  He was distracted by the dog. 


See his outfit?  It says "My Grandma Loves Me", and oh, does she ever!


Bobby went to the polls for the first time (ex-utero) with Mommy, Daddy and Grammy. 


Too bad you can't see it in this pic, but Bobby was wearing his elephant outfit.  Elephants on the pants, shirt and all over the jacket.  I'm pretty sure people knew how we were voting.....


Daddy got the privilege of voting with Bobby.  He explained to him who he was voting for and why.  I was told afterwards that Daddy also had to explain to Bobby NOT to touch the screen while Daddy was casting his vote.  It's okay though.  Bobby would've voted Republican anyway. ;)  Which reminds me, remember Bobby's name in 2045.  I've got big aspirations for my boy....

Spooky Sunday!

Yesterday was Halloween.  Bobby's first Halloween.  Mommy got a little bit emotional as his Daddy and I decked him out in his first costume.  He'll probably groan at me 20 or so years from now as I show his betrothed pictures from this special first holiday and explain that he was dressed this way because he is "Mommy's Little Lamb". 

I had so many outfits bought around the Halloween theme.  It was difficult to fit them all in.  But I did.

  We went to the pumpkin patch the Thursday before Halloween to pick out our pumpkins.  It still blows my mind how much we consumers spend on something we're going to take a knife (or battery powered pumpkin saw) to, light a candle in, and chuck the next trash day. 

Pre-knife...

Post-hacking....aren't they cool?  I stenciled Bobby's name on his, and mine is the one with the heart shaped eyes.  Daddy, ever the horror buff, had to do the Michael Myers mask from the "Halloween" movies.

For the record, Bobby did actually go trick-or-treating.  Only at one house though.  Our neighbors graciously let our little guy rifle through their candy bowl, Bobby picked out some SweetTarts, and went on his way.  Daddy took him, and Bobby was still giggling when he came back to our house.  Apparently all this excitement makes for a tired little lamb...