In my family, Christmas is definitely one of the most treasured times of the year. I, personally, love everything about Christmas. I love what it means, I love the giving, I love the cooking...seriously, I love EVERYTHING about Christmas. Having said this, you will understand why I like to decorate early for Christmas. Daddy-O says I do it earlier and earlier each year and I think he may be right. I told him I was going to start decorating right after Halloween and I got a big fat "oh no you're not!". Well, I decided I was going to do a little bit this week. I mean, heck, what's he going to do take it down once he gets home from work...(wink, wink, love you honey =)!) Sooo, I climb right on up into the attic today to get the boys Christmas tree down for their playroom. While I was up there I spotted this SUPER cute snowman that stands on the front porch each year. So Mr. Snowman and myself proceed back down the ladder from the attic and I sat his heavy butt on the washing machine while I went back up to get the tree. Well, when me and the tree come back down the ladder, the tree knocks Mr. Snowman over who knocks the liquid laundry detergent over which falls (with the top OFF might I add) and spills in between the washer and dryer. To top it all off, it was a brand new bottle of detergent which makes me so mad b/c that's like wiping money up off the floor, soaking it into a rag and tossing it into the trash (then I remembered it was bogo so I wasn't AS upset about it!) Anyway, to put a positive spin on this, my laundry room floor is nice and clean and it smells GREAT in there! Now, I am off to put the Christmas tree up in the playroom! 'Tis the season to be jolly!

Please check out my website and let me know if you are interested in trays, bubble totes or buckets as Christmas gifts! I am offering a few specials and would love to personalize something just for you!
http://dukesdarlingdesigns.webs.com/

The BEST personal trainer EVER....

Ok, so how many of you are lucky enough to have your VERY own personal trainer? Well, I am happy to say that I am! Best of all, she's my friend too so when she pushes me, I know she is doing it to HELP me...well, most of the time! Patty (aka Drill Instructor) has been working out with me a few times each week and I want to THANK her for helping me to get back in to my skinny jeans! Let me know if any of you are in need of a personal trainer and I will get you her number...her prices are reasonable!

Sunday Night Randomness!

What a hectic and busy weekend! Wait, all of our weekends are hectic and busy....who am I kidding! I am proud to say that I am almost completely done with my Christmas shopping. That is a plus for me! My house is also clean...that is a double plus! Oh, and I better not forget the triple, quadruple, maybe even quintuple (is that even really a word??) plus for me......2 words.....let's all say them together....ready....."skinny jeans"....ahhh, I like the sound of that. Yes, I was able to fit into a pair of my "skinny jeans". No, not the ones that are really tight all the way down, even at the ankle (b/c I don't care who says those are "in" style, I "ain't" wearing them) but you know, the ones I used to fit into before I had kids. Surely they don't look like they did on me then but that's not the point, now is it?!
The boys are doing great. Camron and Caden are still slightly obsessed with the Lone Ranger and Tonto. If any of you out there have any of those toys from WAY back in the day and you are looking to get rid of them, please let me know b/c I would love to find some for them. Jaxon, on the other hand, is all in to "the Suite Life of Zack and Cody". He and his bff like to pretend like they ARE Zack and Cody. It's cute but can be annoying too when all I hear is "sweeeeet dude". Jaxon is reading too which is WONDERFUL. He is doing great and loves reading...hey this may just be a sextuple (again, not sure if that's a word) plus for me...ha!
Daddy-O just got home from basketball practice. He loves it but I think I just heard him say "it hurts to stand up"...hmmm, we aren't as young as we used to be!
I do have an appointment this Friday with the polymyositis specialist at Duke. Pray for answers, insight, and peace of mind!

Please click on the link below to go to my friend Ali's blog and read her post from today. Ali, thank you for this post and I hope you don't mind that I am sending people there to read it!
http://www.findingrestinhim.blogspot.com

Chris

I love my husband... I do! Sometimes I think that I love him so much that my heart might explode right out of my chest. I think he is funny, smart, handsome, athletic, etc., etc. Some would say he's my McDreamy or my McSteamy (for all you Grey's fans). Some would say he's my "lobster" (for all you old school Friends fans). He has many names in our house: Daddy, Dad, Daddy-O, Baby, Honey, DH (which means Darling Husband....most of the time), ding-bat Charlie, or just plain Chris. The reason I decided to write this blog this morning is because before Chris left to play basketball, I asked him to turn my coffee pot on. I know he heard me b/c he asked me how many cups I was making and I answered him. I got up a little while later, took a shower (all the while thinking of my coffee which awaited me) and went downstairs only to find that the ding-bat Charlie hadn't turned the coffee pot on at all! This is a regular occurrence in our house, btw! I think it's funny! I also think it's part of being a man! Let me give you another example. If I ask Chris to unload the dishwasher and he says "I'll do it when I get home", that really means in "christopher-ese" "baby, I know if I leave it long enough, you'll get sick of looking at the dirty dishes in the sink and you'll do it yourself so I will conveniently forget for just a little bit longer". OR if I ask him to scoop the litter box he will conveniently run out of time in the morning before work KNOWING that the school room is right beside the laundry room and Jaxon and I won't be able to concentrate without taking care of it! I also love how he never smelled the poopie diapers. How funny is it though, when he did have to change the poopie ones, that he heaved EVERY time. There were a few times when he really, actually threw up! When Jaxon was a baby, I used to think it was a show so I would feel bad for him and not make him do it anymore, but I soon found out that he just had a really weak tum-tum! Anyway, just a few funnies this morning about my DH(remember that means Darling Husband). He's great! He does unload the dishwasher a lot (mostly b/c I hate doing it...and he says I do it too slow!) He also cleans other things (including the litter box) when I need him to! I'm sure most of you with hubbies out there get the same excuses...heck, some of you may not even be as lucky to have hubbies that clean at all! I count my blessings for the forgotten litter box and emptying of the dishwasher AND for the poopie diapers that I do change! It makes me realize how lucky I am to have a hubby that helps....sometimes!!