Wordless Wednesday: The Kids' Baptism

This past Sunday, we had the opportunity to have the children baptized into the Catholic Church. This was something that I had wanted to get done for a while and felt guilty about as well. Well on Sunday, we finally held their baptism. It was a beautiful ceremony and a wonderful day. (The only downside was my Mother-in-Law, scowled the whole ceremony. I could hear her saying snide remarks throughout mass and she just wanted to make the whole thing miserable for everyone else. Thankfully her and my Father-in-law left right after mass to beat the snow home and so the party that we had at our house after was very relaxed and fun.)

Here are some highlights of their beautiful day:

Their baptism cake (made by me)

My Little Man

My darling daughter

Jacob getting baptized

Rebecca getting baptized

Father Hammond taking Jacob and Rebecca through church

Fr. Hammond, Bill and I, the kids, and their Godparents

Jacob and Aunt Mary and Uncle Josh (his Godparents)

Rebecca with Bill and Dana (her godparents)

Us, the kids, Mary, Josh and my parents

2010 Goals revisited...

January 1...I set the following goals for myself. Now that 2010 is almost to a close it is time for me to take a look and see how I did. (and to get an idea of what my goals for 2011 should be!)

2010 GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS


1. Lose 30 pounds/ get down to 199.--didn't happen. I did lose some weight, but I am only down to 215.

2. Financial goals:

- Pay off ambulance bill--DONE!

- Pay off anethisiologist bill---DONE!!!

- Pay off Sears card--DONE!!!!

- add $500 or more to savings--didn't happen since we paid off the above. But we still have close to our $1000 emergency fund.

3. Declutter as much as possible--my stuff and basement---by selling, donating, or throwing away.--we threw out a TON of stuff when we moved over the summer. We also donated a TON of stuff after we moved. It felt so liberating.

-sell $500 worth of stuff by Dec. 31, 2010---we sold a few things but definitely not $500 worth.

4. Write on blog at least once a week---didn't happen, but am finally getting into a rhythm I think.

5. Take family trip that the kids would enjoy (can be a weekend trip)---we took the kids to Indianapolis. It was a fun weekend!

6. Find a way to bring in extra income--got a part time job at St. Vincent's.

7. Don't snap at Bill or Rebecca---working on this

8. Make decisions with confidence---trying to do this.

9. Find a church and join---We did this in November 2010. We joined the Catholic Church here, and had the kids baptized Dec. 12.

10. Have 200 no-spend days in 2010---I really don't know. I know that we did not do this.

11. Make a menu for each week--did this on and off

12. Exercise at least 3 times a week.--not

13. Buy NO junk food at all this year.---this did NOT happen at all.


Overall there was some positives and some negatives. I am okay with that. I am proud of the fact that we paid off the bills. Those were big weights on our shoulders and they are gone. We even had other medical bills that we had to pay as well this year.

Now I have to look forward to 2011 and evaluate what I need to do and how to get where I am going and how I can live better one day at a time.

How did you do with your 2010 goals??

Menu Plan...Week before Christmas

Wow this weekend flew by! It was busy, busy, busy. I baked a ton on Saturday, went shopping on Saturday, had the kids' baptism on Sunday and held a party for them. The weather has been weird. Saturday it was 50 degrees and party cloudy. Yesterday we had rain, then ice, then snow and falling temperatures. And today it is SOOOOO COLLLDDDDD!!!!!!!! And windy too. Schools around here are cancelled and that means I get the day off! I have a ton of things to do though so it won't really be a complete day off. One of the things I need to do today is catch up on housework and hopefully get started wrapping Christmas gifts and get our Christmas cards addressed and mailed. I also hope to watch last week's episode of the "Biggest Loser" so I can watch the finale tomorrow night. Also on my list of things to do today was write a blog post (which is this one :) ) and make a menu plan for the week.

So without further ado here is our menu plan this week:

Monday: spaghetti and garlic bread (using up the bread left from yesterday's baptism party)

Tuesday: baked fish, broccoli, rice and sliced apples

Wednesday: whole chicken in the crockpot, stuffing, green beans

Thursday: chicken tacos (made with leftover chicken from Wednesday), and mac-n-cheese for the kids

Friday: frozen pizza and wings

Saturday: Christmas party

Sunday: leftovers

For other great menu ideas please visit....  orgjunkie.com.

Baking goals for this weekend.

I think the Christmas spirit has hit in the form of I WANT to bake. I don't really need to but I WANT to. So this weekend I am planning on doing some baking. We are having the kids baptized on Sunday so this offers the perfect opportunity to bake. On my list of things to make are:

BUCKEYES!!!! YUMMY!!!!!

CINNAMON COFFEE CAKE

PUMPKIN BREAD

CAKE

I am making most of these for a baptism brunch on Sunday. The buckeyes I am making just because I have been wanting them!

Are there any baked goods you have been wanting? 

Christmas stress.....

I am really trying to have a less stressful Christmas. I really am, for my sake and for the sake of my family. Christmas presents are bought. Plans were made last month for what we were doing Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Things seemed to be moving forward smoothly...until...today.....

I went to the grocery store this afternoon and my husband calls me. He only calls if a) there is a problem with the kids or b) because he HAS to tell me something. He had just gotten off the phone with his mother.

The day after Thanksgiving, Bill and his mom were talking about our plans for Christmas. She wanted us to come for Christmas dinner and to be at their house on Christmas Day. Well we had already committed to going to Bill's aunt and uncles house for Christmas Eve and we had told his mom that we would like to spend Christmas Eve day with them, so that we would not have to have two 3 hour round trip car rides in 2 days. We didn't think that putting the kids through the car rides was fair. She went on a rant that she was unavailable on Christmas Eve because they had to usher at church and we were choosing my side of the family over Bill's side, etc. She said that we must have her very low on our totem pole and she hung up on Bill. At Rebecca's b-day party, she did not speak to my husband. The Monday after that she called to say that Christmas Eve was fine for getting together and that we could come in the afternoon and then all go to Bill's aunt and uncles from there. That way we could spend Christmas Day at home with our kids and then Christmas night spend with my parents (who live 15 min away). Okay so the plans were made. Right? WRONG!!!!

She called Bill today to say that Rick (Bill's brother whom we have seen 1 time in the last 5 years) is coming in on Christmas Day only and so we HAVE to come to her house on Christmas Day and that if we come Christmas Eve she won't be able to see us. ???? Bill told her we would be there all afternoon Christmas Eve and that we were going to the family Christmas party that night. My mother-in-law said that that didn't count. And she said that we were choosing my family over them and that she gets no holidays this year. (We celebrated Thanksgiving a day early with her and my other inlaws due to their schedules and the fact that my niece's b-day was on Thanksgiving Day). She said that my parents get to see the kids all the time and that we must not love her very much. Yes my parents see the kids more often because a) they live 15 minutes away and are constantly in our town as my sister and brother's activities and schools are 5 minutes away from my house and b) my mom babysits our kids 3 times a week so I can work part time. Ugh.... (Oh and we have spent every major holiday with them for the past 4 years. We have not seen my parents on Christmas Day since 2006).

Bill and I had made the decision to spend Christmas Eve with the in-laws because that way we could spend Christmas morning and early afternoon at home and not have to rush our kids out of the house and allow them to enjoy their things from Santa. My mother-in-law doesn't understand that. We have invited her to our house for Christmas morning and she says " I am 77 years old, I can't do the round trip drive." Ugghhh... I am so tired of dealing with her. If it were not for my kids, we might not have any relationship with them. It is so frustrating!!!!!  I want and need to do what is right for our family. And I am sorry if my mother-in-law doesn't understand. Christmas is not about her (even though she thinks it is). It is about the kids and about being with family and friends at some point.  I wish she could see that.  I am trying not to be stressed about this, but it is so frustrating to me.

THE CHRISTMAS PEARL---book review

One of the things I am trying to do more to live better one day at a time is to make time to read more books. The latest I have read is The Christmas Pearl by Dorothea Benton Frank. Following is my review of her book. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Christmas Pearl  stars 93 year old Theodora, who lives in her ancestor's home in Charleston, South Carolina. She is not looking forward to the upcoming Christmas holiday as she will have her selfish, modernized, spoiled brats of a family all under one roof. She will have her children, their spouses, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren with her. She realizes that through some fault of her own, the family has grown to be selfish, self-centered, littered with problems (including infidelity, drug abuse, shopping problems, and kids being disrespectful of others).

Theodora misses the classic Christmases of the past, especially from her own childhood around the 1920's. She reminisces over the homemade gifts and garlands, the delicious handmade treats and meals, the simplicity but loveliness of the holiday. Most of these feelings she had because of time spent with the woman of her youth. Her own grandmother, her mother, but most especially her Grandmother's housekeeper Pearl. She wishes that these women were there to help her get through this year with her own family. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, she dreams often of Pearl who is yelling at her and furious at her for the outcome of her family's attitudes and egos. Theodora is in a bleak and depressed state in regards to this holiday season.

However, true to Dorothea Benton Frank's story telling magic, all is not lost. Using some help from Heaven, the magic of gullah and the lowcountry theatrics, Pearl appears  from the dead, on Christmas Eve to save the day complete with magic tricks up her sleeve. She offers help to Theodora and to Theodora's daughter Barbara, who is to take her place as matriarch of the family. Through the magic of the holidays, Pearl brings back the cherished memories and artifacts of Christmas' past, changes the attitudes of the entire family and brings back the magic of Christmas for Theodora and her family.  She shows how awful the family had gotten through an awful Christmas Eve family dinner which resulted in many tears and accusations. By Christmas afternoon, the family has gained respect and renewed sense of love and forgiveness with and for each other. All because of Pearl.

The Christmas Pearl was a very quick, feel good read for Christmas. It reminds all of us how we need to treat our families and what love and respect should look and feel like for Christmas. Frank reminds us of this in a funny, quirky, and sometimes outlandish tale of one family's journey to Christmas peace brought together by Pearl.  The one downside to the book is that I came away from reading it wanting to know more about the minor characters. Really the only two characters that you really get to know are Theodora and Pearl. I would have loved to go deeper into the character of Barbara and the other adults in the story. They seemed to be glossed over. But this was a minor detail.

This book was a great read to stay in the spirit of Christmas and to relax for a few hours! I would definitely recommend this!

Have you read any good Christmas books lately?

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas activities

Some of the Christmas Activities going on in the Davis household:

Decorated the Christmas tree and put all the stuffed animals at the bottom to distract Jacob from playing with the tree.

Decorated inside the house. Hung the stocking on the steps.

Playing games at Dinner with St. Nick

Rebecca, Jacob and St. Nick (Jacob kept trying to de-beard St. Nick)

Rebecca loved her face paint.

Doing Christmas craft

Seeing Santa Claus on the square. (Jacob was asleep)

Playing.

My FAVORITE Christmas show....

One of the Christmas activities that I want to do with my kids and husband is to watch classic Christmas cartoons as a family---including, Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown, etc. Well we have watched "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" twice! (Rebecca has decided that that is her favorite!) We have watched "Frosty the Snowman," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (the cartoon version), and various cartoons of the day that have Christmas shows...for example "Dora's Christmas Carol." (Please note we did not watch these all on the same day! We have spread them out and watched about 1 a day or so.) Tonight, airing on tv is one of my all time favorite Christmas shows..

                                                 .."A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS" 

I love this show and look forward to watching it every year. We don't have it on DVD yet, but I think I may consider getting it to add to our collection. I love that it helps to strike a perfect balance between commercial Christmas and Religious Christmas.I am striving to keep the balance in our home. We go see Santa and enjoy buying presents and decorating with Santas and snowmen, but we also read stories of the true meaning of Christmas and making religious crafts and decorate with Nativitiy scenes.

I cannot wait to watch this show with Rebecca tonight. She is at the age where she loves Snoopy and she has enjoyed the other Charlie Brown specials that we have watched this year... It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

What Christmas shows do you look forward to every year?

This post is added to the Tuesday blog hop...hosted by My Mad Mind.

Menu Plan Week of 12/6

Things have been crazy around here--aka money has been flying out of the house left and right....AGHHHH>>>> One thing that has worked in the past to keep some money in control is through menu planning. I admit that I have gotten out of the habit. Dinners are usually decided at the last minute and therefore things are just randomly bought at the store and/or we end up getting pizza or fast food. I REALLY need to get back into menu planning and there is no time like the present!  So the menu plan for this week is:

Breakfasts: waffles or cereal and fruit and milk

Lunches: sandwiches, leftovers and juice

Dinners:

Monday: Shredded bbq chicken sandwiches (made in crockpot), broccoli, fruit cocktail

Tuesday: Chicken nuggets, chicken wings, leftover sides from fridge

Wednesday: Hamburger helper (cheeseburger macaroni), corn

Thursday: grilled cheese sandwiches, carrots, pears

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: homemade pizza, peaches

Sunday: food from baptism party, whatever we can find.

For more great menu ideas please visit Orgjunkie.com and her Menu Plan Monday series.

Christmas Treats

Every year I look forward to Christmas time, not only because of the spiritual meaning of the holiday, but because it is the only time of year where I indulge in my favorite Christmas treats....These treats remind me of Christmas and the holidays. I admit that I eat way too  many of them during November and December, but I try to work them off in January and February in my resolutions for the New Year. So the must have treats for Christmas in my opinion are::

Candy buckeyes, candy cane hershey kisses and Queen Anne chocolate covered cherries!!!

YUMMY!!!YUMMY!!!YUMMY!!!!!

What are your must have treats for the Christmas season?

Christmas activities

One of my goals this Christmas season is to have a less stressful holiday than I have had in the past. I want to enjoy time with my family and enjoy experiences. I want to spend less on "things" and enjoy quality time together. That being said, I have come up with a list of things I want to do with my hubby and kids this Christmas season.... (this is in no particular order)....

• Follow an advent calender (begin Dec.1)
• Make an advent cross craft that we got from church
• Dinner with St. Nick
• Decorate outside of our home
• Read St. Nicholas story and leave shoe outside of bedroom on his feast day
• make Christmas suncatchers with Rebecca for Christmas gifts
• make garden stone with Rebecca for Christmas gifts for grandparents
• make cookies
• watch classic Christmas cartoons as a family---including, Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown, etc.
• watch the Nutcracker
• go to in-laws Christmas party
• drive around neighborhood to look at Christmas lights
• Wildlights at the zoo

This is just the beginning of my list. I hope to do something every day of December leading up to Christmas. I hope it brings more meaning to the holiday than we have had in the past.

BOOK REVIEW:: Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

 I have read many of Jodi Picoult's books and have enjoyed them for not only the stories that she told, but for the questions both about morality and ethics, that she makes me think about. I was excited that during my last library trip, they had one of her books that I had not read, "Handle with Care."

"Handle with Care" is the story of the O'Keefe's a family who has 2 daughters. One is a teenager going through all the angst that that time of life brings. The other is Willow, who was born with a bone disease that results in her getting many, many breaks and fractures throughout her young life. The story focuses on the emotional, financial toll that Willow's disease has taken on the family and on the mom, Charlotte's, decision to file a wrongful birth suit in order to make sure that her daughter's financial future would be secure. This books tackles the questions of whether or not the parents would have ended the pregnancy had they known earlier about Willow's disease.

Like many of Picoult's books this book follows the story of a major medical issue, a family with personal issues and a lawyer who has her own issues in her life. Unlike many of her other books, I could not become involved with these characters. I felt pity for them, but nothing else. I felt like telling the mother to grow up. The story line did  make me question how I would look at the situation and what I might do; however the differing points of view and the writing really distracted me from getting into this story. And even now a couple of days after finishing the book, i don't know how i feel about the surprise ending.....

Overall, it was a disappointing book to read. The story was awkward, the writing was distracting and it seemed like it was the same as other Picoult books. I will not be re-reading this one again and I do not recommend it to anyone else to read.

Lots going on...and recap of Rebecca's birthday party

The past few days have been pretty hectic around here. The recap:

On Wednesday we had Thanksgiving dinner/ birthday celebration with my in-laws and for my sister in law's birthday. Thursday we had Thanksgiving dinner/ birthday celebration with my side of the family and we celebrated my niece's 6th birthday. Friday my sister came to visit and her friend came over for the day. Saturday was spent taking my sister to a 6am basketball practice, cleaning house, doing laundry, baking and decorating Rebecca's b-day cake. Sunday, I got Rebecca up early so we could go to church early. Then I had to get the food together for the party, etc. Then there was Rebecca's party....

She had a blast! She woke up and saw her cake first thing and said "Mommy my cake is beautiful!" After we went to church, she wanted to hurry back home to make sure her cake was still ok. LOL. At her party, she wanted to wear her party dress (pink dress with cupcakes all over it!).

She loved her balloons!

Daddy helping Rebecca blow out the candles on her Cinderella cake!

Enjoying her cake!

She got lots of great gifts! I love her expression when she was opening her birthday barbie!

Playing her new Nickelodeon Fit game with daddy!

The aftermath! Leftover cake and a Cinderella barbie to play with.

Overall we had a really great party for her birthday! She had a blast and that is what matters most! 

During the party, I started feeling achy and run down. I think it was just the stress of the last week and all the things that were going on. I was sick Monday and most of Tuesday. I hate feeling sick! Thankfully I am feeling a little better. I did not get one of my goals done. I wanted to be done with our Christmas shopping by Dec.1, but I am about 97% done so I don't feel too bad about that.

Overall  the last full week of November was busy and was enjoyable! I hope December can be the same.