2010 Christmas in captions...

So Christmas this year was a rough one for me. Not going to lie at all here folks. I went into it feeling a little disappointed that we weren't going to Mexico like we had planned, and it just all went downhill from there. We got some bad, bad news and our kids were sick. Gavin had the flu pretty hardcore, paired with a double ear infection. Chelsea didn't get sick until a few days later, but it's been rough.

However, that being said, the kids are on the mend and prayers are going up like wildfire for the bad, bad news aspect. Also, Christmas with the kids was fun. Although I posted a lot of these on facebook, I wanted a record on my blog too. So, here we go....

My kids aren't big milk drinkers, so Chelsea figured it would be better to leave Santa a cookie with apple juice.

Santa came; Santa came!!
Santa did not, however, bring my son matching, properly fitting pajamas. (Again, I'll defend myself - he had the flu and we were changing his clothes so often that we didn't care what he was wearing because chances are he would be getting changed again in moments.)


Opening stockings is my favourite part of Christmas, hands down. I'm sad I don't get a stocking any more!
Chelsea carefully inspected her box of crafting supplies... Gavin carefully inspecting his new tools...
We bought Chelsea a slinky. She had no idea what to do with it.

I'm not kidding. No clue.Santa brought the largest sucker ever. I am mom of the year and this is a photo of my son eating said sucker at approximately 8 a.m. Love it.
Opening presents was fun times!
So that's a quick caption of our Christmas. I hope yours was fantastic. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go pray in the new year. I have a feeling that's what's going to get me through the next little while.

Whoo whoo.

So in the last little while, I've had 6 people come up to me and tell me that they read my blog and I had no idea. I love that there are lots of people reading what I write, even if it is boring, mundane stories about my life and my kids. All I have to say is let me know you are reading. I'm more tempted to write if I know people are reading. I also find that I blog a bit more now that I know that you can get your blogs published in a book format. I think that is a really neat idea and keepsake. It's like journalling old school.

I have a lot to catch up on with my blog. Lots has been happening that needs to get posted, but for now, I'm just going to share a few things about the past 24 hours. Chris and I were supposed to go to the city for a relaxing few days and two nights, but plans changed. Our plans for childcare fell through because my kids both had the flu and we didn't want to pass it on. We wound up giving our friends a really good deal on a hotel room for one night, but did manage to sneak away last night. It wasn't as relaxing as we hoped because we spent most of our time shopping, but it was still a good day out.

I came home from the city with a pair of super skinny jeans and 2 pairs of boots. Love it. I also bought a few shirts and a fun owl ring. Me and my owls, I know.

Then, we met up with friends at The Keg. Mmmm... steak. Seriously, it's a good thing we don't have that restaurant any closer. It's so delicious, but so expensive.

Anyways, a picture from tonight of me and my girl Andrea. I love her to peices and am grateful that we are still friends. She's so beautiful, inside and out. We've been friends since high school and were so close in university that we were dubbed "Amandrea". Then she moved to far far away land to go to school, fell in love with a boy, got married and is now having a baby. I wish she lived closer, but for now, I'll settle for our quick visits when she comes to Manitoba. Love you lady!

And that was the past few days. Soon, I'll hopefully have a Christmas post up (mainly for my sister who has been begging for pictures) and I'm working on a few more. Nighty night!

In case we're not FB friends...

Anyone interested in spending two nights in Winnipeg at the Holiday Inn South? It's for the 28th and 29th. We booked through Priceline so we can't cancel.

I'll give you a smokin' deal because at this point, we're losing out on a bunch of money. :(

Christmas Eve

Last year, we made a gingerbread house on Christmas Eve. This year, I picked out a really cute gingerbread tree. It was fun!

Gavin, sadly, was left out of the gingerbread tree process because he's so sick. But, we did manage to get out our stockings.

(Pardon the horrible picture, but this is all I got before his meltdown.)

Now, we're watching Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer with Chelsea. Have a great Christmas everyone!

What traditions do you have for Christmas Eve?

'Tis the season!

In response to someone telling Chelsea that Santa wasn't real, she said, "Yes he is! I saw him at the mall!"
She brought Santa a nice red bow because it matched his suit. She was so excited to see him this year. Our mall Santa is so great.


She adored sitting on Santa's knee...


Her brother, however, was NOT impressed. In his defense, we did just find out that he has two ear infections and later that evening, he spiked a fever and started throwing up. It has not been a fun couple of days.


We got to open a few presents from Grandma Pat and Grandpa Jerry.
Chelsea was VERY excited to get her tiger!

Christmas this year was supposed to be busy. Usually we are travelling back and forth from my parents' to Chris' parents' but this year, we felt that we should stay home. We tossed around the idea of heading to Mexico, but again, felt that we should stay home. With the way Gavin has been feeling, I'm glad we did. Tomorrow will just be a laid back, family Christmas, the way it should be. Merry Christmas everyone, from our home to yours.

Christmas time.

- I'm addicted to salad right now. I seriously crave it. I've been making my own dressing with grapeseed oil, mrs. dash table blend, and a little too much vinegar. I wake up craving it. So yummy.

- I haven't really mentioned it because I don't like bragging, but, I've lost almost 60 pounds. I've had to reintroduce myself to people who should, but don't, recognize me. It's fun but really awkward at the same time. I hit a VERY major milestone this morning and am super pumped. My losing weight isn't about me wearing a bikini or fitting into a certain size. It's about me not being classified as obese. It's about me and being healthy. I feel so good right now. I love it!

- I wish anonymous commenters were either A) nice, or B) not anonymous. I'm seriously considering checking that little box that disables anonymous comments. This would mean that certain people whom I love (Kim) couldn't comment, but every few months I get an anonymous comment that really bugs me.

- Our Christmas program was Sunday at the church. I'm very disappointed with the pictures. Chelsea was in the back and they didn't line the kids up like it was rehearsed. We couldn't see her and her cute costume at all and she couldn't see her teacher, so she stopped singing and turned around and looked at the back wall. Oh well, at least Gavin and I rocked it - me in my bathrobe and Gavin with a sucker and his monkey.

- We are pretty much ready for Christmas. I'm VERY excited to be staying home this Christmas. This hasn't happened since I started dating Chris. Usually we're driving on Christmas or Boxing Day. Now that we have our own family, we wanted to start traditions of our own, like a laid back, relaxing Christmas morning with just us. It's going to be perfect.

- Speaking of Christmas, I must admit that I am cheap when it comes to Christmas decorations. We don't have a lot of extra money to spend on trees, fancy ornaments, and decorations, nor do I have the room to have that stuff taking up space. I also would like to add that I have a 3 year old and an 18 month old, who are constantly playing with the ornaments/gifts and decorations that I do have. We actually did have to spend money on our tree ornaments this year and buy shatterproof ones because last year, Chelsea broke 4 glass ones.

So, in response to the "Your tree looks cheap!" comment, here is a picture of our expensive, beautifully done up tree. Isn't it beautiful, elegant and expensive looking?

We'll say it's ours, but it lives next door.

- I'm so thankful for my friends right now. I remember last year at this time I was feeling pretty lonely in the friends department. I am so thankful for all the new friends that have come into my life this past year. I love you all, ladies! Muah!

And with that random mumbo jumbo... 'night all!

As creative as I get.

So for our Sunday School concert on Sunday in church, we've been asked to dress our children in "holy land" costumes. Now, my kids don't have bathrobes or anything like that, so I had to be creative. I was given a pack of 6 pillow cases a while ago that didn't quite match any bedding I had, so with a few snips of the scissors, may I present my daughter, dressed in holy pillow cases. :D

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip!

You just have to ask yourself, is that one big boy or one tiny muffin?

Crickets Chirping...

So imagine, if you will.

I am standing at the front of my classroom. 25 pairs of little eyes, glued to me. They are all eager and listening, for what feels like the first time ever. Everyone is engaged, learning and behaving. There are no silly noises, no tapping pencils, no kids wandering around, no pencils sharpening. Everyone is simply "on". A moment like this doesn't happen too often.

Just as I start to smile and think, "Man, you really have it, don't you Amanda?" a lone student raises his hand.

"Mrs. Hildebrand? Who farted?"

Sigh. The moment - gone.

And normal, daily life in the classroom continues.

Christmas Banquet

Tonight, our church held its annual Christmas banquet. I love how it's done. There are table hosts and each host is responsible for decorating their table. You get such an amazing display and variety of tables. It's so neat to see. This year, I went nuts and Chris and I made a crazy cake display involving styrofoam, lights,fondant, and an army of cute little snowmen.

And now, just because I want proof of it out there, and not because this is a great picture - may I present ME... in a dress!! Who knows when that has happened last?

And me, showing off my little snowman pop. I'm actually going to attempt real cake pops next weekend. Here's hoping they are a cute as these guys!

Quilty McQuilter

Finally finished!

I love this fabric. I bought it from Fabric Shoppe. They have amazing fabrics!

points

- I went to the grand opening of Bloom tonight. It was so thrilling to see someone's dreams come true. Megan's speech talked about how today was her "someday", as in "someday I'll open my own shop." Makes me think a lot about my someday and if my dream of "Cake." will ever become reality. I know that right now it's not in the cards as my kids are too young, but it sure makes me wonder. Bloom is gorgeous and I want to buy everything in that store. If you are ever ordering me flowers, order from Bloom!

- My nose ring has flared up and is really swollen. I'm trying not to play with it. I had hoped it was healed, but I guess not.

- Life today was normal. No cakes to work on and my husband home. I LOVE these days. I took some time for me to actually sit on the couch and watch tv. I sewed Gavin's quilt (almost done). I cleaned. Made me realize how easy life would be if I just said no to cakes!

- My baby is getting so big. He's almost 18 months and growing like a weed. I swear this shirt fit him last week.

- This boy has given us a run for our money lately. He's just been so sick. It doesn't help that his eye teeth are coming in, but he is soooo snotty and feverish and snotty. Plus, he has a gorgeous red rash on his face happening again. Is it teething? Is it from chewing Monkey's bum? Who knows...

But these eyes, paired with the dimples and the "mama", I'm a goner.

- Alright, this was supposed to be longer, but that's all the time I have for now!

Mmm....

Smelly markers are the BEST!

2010 Fam

Here is our sneek peak from our family photoshoot today. You know when you meet someone for the first time and it feels like you knew them forever? That's totally how I was today with Tiff. I'm so excited to see the rest of the pictures!

Randoms

- The time change fairy was good to our house last night. G wakes up every morning, without fail, at 7:30. It's usually pretty much exactly 7:30, so we were expecting a nice wake up call through our baby monitor at 6:30 this morning. Words can't express how happy we were to hear his voice at exactly 7:30 this morning. Hooray for sleeping in!

- I need more flannel sheets - for our bed, and Chelsea's. She's been sneaking into our bed for the past few nights. She looks at me with her sleepy bed head and says, "I just want to snuggle with you both" and I'm a goner. However, we know this is a bad habit, so we've been trying to put a stop to it. Unfortunately, this usually means me crawling out of my nice warm bed, and taking her back to her room. We're thinking if we make her bed a little more cosy, she might be more inclined to stay there. Maybe?

- Saturday was a blur of birthday parties for a friend, icing cupcakes for a fundraiser, and attending that fundraiser. I have some amazingly talented friends. My friend Crystal and her husband Jeff and some others from our church put on a concert and the proceeds went to the International China Concern (I think that's what it is called.) Now, let me tell you a little about my friend Crystal. She. is. amazing. She's one of those girls that you just want to spend time with. She always greets you with a hug and knows the right words to say. She is hilarious in a way that makes you laugh out loud, even hours later. She has a great memory and can pretty much quote any line from any show she's ever watched. She amazes me. We don't get to spend enough time together.

Anyways, this girl has an amazing voice. I was so thrilled to be able to donate 120 cupcakes to the cause and listen to her sing all night long. I sat with tears in my eyes for most of it. So. good.

- I have more to say, but that'll have to wait for another day. It's bed time for me. Here's hoping the time change fairy is good to us again.

End of October

- We celebrated Chris turning 30 (on the 30th no less). The day did not go as planned at all, but I kept reminding him of a couple weeks ago when I surprised him with skydiving, indoor go-kart racing, lunch and a movie in Winnipeg with his friends. We did have a great night eating wings and pizza and playing Settlers of Catan with some very good friends.

- You might remember Chris' surprise birthday cake from last year.

Everyone kept asking how I was going to top that for his 30th birthday. I kept thinking about it on and off all year but luckily, my husband made it easy for me. He wanted a blizzard cake from DQ. Done. Easy-peasy. - On the 30th, a church in Winkler had a carnival for Jesus and our great babysitters took Chelsea. She was a little tired of being Snow White all week, so we switched it up and she went as Belle. She was so excited to wear my tiara from my wedding. That hoop skirt is hard to maneuver!

- We carved pumpkins with Chelsea this year. Gavin was sick, so he was sleeping a lot the day we decided to do it. Chelsea really was having fun, despite how it looks in this picture.

- For Halloween, we had another repeat appearance from the frog and Snow White. Chelsea LOVED trick-or-treating. We went out for an hour and a half as a family, then I came home to put Gavin to sleep and hand out candy. I lost track of how many kids, but it was a lot. I'm sure it had to do with the fact that our neighbours had a haunted house display set up in their garage.
- We didn't have to buy any Halloween costumes this time. I pick up costumes in the summer at garage sales for our dress-up bin downstairs. I think Gavin's frog was $5, the Belle dress was $4 and my sister got the Snow White dress for $0.50.

- And now, it's November. The month of MCC kits and report card writing at work. Add in 8 birthday cakes, 1 smash cake, and 154 cupcakes and it's a recipe for insanity. :P