MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

So much for taking it easy

If you define "taking it easy" as not getting out of your pajamas all day then I did take it easy as I had planned, but I define it as not doing much and I did lots today. I got all the Christmas presents together for Joey to bring to Bham. I got Finley's presents from "Santa" together also. I'm almost done packing myself and I started on Finley's packing, but only got her clothes picked out. I cleaned the house and did all the laundry because I hate coming home from out of town to a dirty, messy house. I uploaded some pics on Facebook, got caught up on some emails and got our schedule straight for our Bham trip. I have to have a schedule for trips home so I can make sure we cover all our bases and make the most of our time there. Finley and I are coming up on Tuesday because I'm having dinner with some sorority sisters and I am so excited about that!! Wednesday I'm having lunch with my bestie, Shelley, and Finley and I may do some shopping. Thursday we are going to church and then heading over to Joey's grandparents house for Christmas Eve dinner and Dirty Santa. Christmas Day we are opening gifts and eating breakfast with my mom and then going to Joey's parents to eat and open gifts with them. Saturday we are going to my step-sister's house to have Christmas with my Dad and step-mom and then we are heading home. On our way home we are stopping in Prattville to see my cousin, his wife and their kids. It makes me tired just thinking about it, but it will be a lot of fun!! My only Christmas wish is that one day we will be closer to home. (Sigh) This is probably my last post until after the holidays so I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Bellingrath Gardens Magic Christmas in Lights

Well, after weeks of talking about taking Finley to see the Magic Christmas in Lights at Bellingrath Gardens, we finally did it. It wasn't too cold and there was no wind so it was perfect weather. We bundled her up and drove over to Theodore. We waited in a long line of cars FOREVER! I finally took her out of her carseat and let her roam the car because we were moving so slowly. We parked and got up to the ticket window. There was no line there thank goodness! Bellingrath is basically just like Botanical Gardens so we followed these paths through the gardens and they had awesome lights. Finley loved it just like I knew she would. She just rode in her stroller and looked at all the people and the lights. It was really neat and I'm glad we went! We picked up Wendy's on the way home and Finley was out by the time we got home. She didn't even open her eyes when I was undressing her. I'm hoping because she went to bed so late that she will sleep late. I'm about to hit the hay. I braved the mall today to try to find something to wear on Christmas. I got a couple cute tops and I got Finley an outfit from Santa. I almost teared up right in the middle of Gap Kids because I want to start getting her some things for Spring so I bought a 12-18 month outfit and it was in the big girl section rather than the baby section. Somebody press pause!!!!! Joey got an early Christmas present (Call of Duty Modern Warfare) and he has been playing it ALL DAY!!! I think I'll tidy up the house tomorrow, take Finley for a walk and just take it easy. Maybe one of these days, I'll be strong enough to leave Finley in the nursery so we can go to church, but I'm not there yet. God will understand;) Night, night.

1st Annual Dambro Christmas Cookout

I've decided our party should have a name;) We had a great time last night!!! My friend Courtney brought a friend of hers I had never met and it actually turns out that I knew her husband from my old job. Some of our neighbors that I had never really met, but Joey knew, came over. They were so nice. I took approx. 2 pictures because I forgot, but oh well. Everyone came over around 6:30 and we just ate and talked all night. It was a nice relaxing night. I love to get dressed up and go to a party, but it was a nice change to just put on jeans and grill hamburgers and sit around the kitchen table talking and telling stories. Good times!! The guys stayed outside all night except when they came in to eat, but according to Joey they had a good time hanging around the fire pit and drinking beer. God only knows what they talked about;)We women hung out in the kitchen (it always seems that people gravitate to that area) and just talked and laughed. I am definitely going to plan a game night after the first of the year. I kind of forgot how fun it was to have friends over and how much I missed it. We hardly had any leftover food, just some cupcakes and brownies which unfortunately I had for breakfast. (Sigh) I've got to get back on the wagon. Anyway, a successful party was a great way to start off the weekend. Joey and I have already been to Target this morning and are going to take Finley to Bellingrath Gardens tonight to see the Christmas lights show. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Teething Bites. Literally!

You can't really see her tooth in this picture, but it's the best I could do.

The other night I was giving Finley an Apple Cinnamon puff and my finger went in her mouth while she was biting down and it hurt! She has a sharp little toofy coming in! It's on the bottom left. I can see and feel a little sliver of white. Yea!! I don't mean to brag when I say this, but she hasn't been the least bit fussy or anything. It's kind of weird. You always hear horror stories about children when they are teething. Aside from having a little trouble going to bed last night, it has been business as usual. About a month or so ago she was really fussy for about a week and we thought it was teething, but we didn't see anything. I'm going to give credit to the teething tablets which is the only thing we have used to help her. In our case they worked better than Tylenol and Motrin. She also likes to keep biting her bottle when she's done eating so I let her. I can tell it feels good. I'm thinking teething pain is like that pain you have in your teeth when you have a lot of sinus pressure. I'm 27 years old and I complain all day long when I have that feeling. Poor baby!

Walgreens is bad...in a good way ;)

A couple days ago out of nowhere I developed some kind of allergy/sinus situation. I have never had allergies of any kind, but my eyes are itchy and watery and my nose it itchy and runny and I'm sneezing all the time. I went to get some Claritin and decided to go to Walgreens. I usually got to CVS because it's right by my house, but I went to Walgreens because Julie (my blog buddy)always mentions going to Walgreens in her blog and says how great it is. Well, she was right. I spent $60 at a drugstore. I got my Claritin, the rest of Joey's stocking stuffers, a gift from Santa for Finley (a big stuffed giraffe), a Precious Moments prayer buddy for Finley and some candy for Friday night. Geez! No more trips to Walgreens for a while.

Reformed crazy lady.

I decided I didn't have the strength to go up to Wal-Mart again and try to get my pictures. I need to learn to let go of things I can't control and quit letting stupid stuff get to me. I don't want Finley picking up that characteristic of mine. I decided to go online and re-order my pictures to be picked up at the Wal-Mart in Daphne. I went to the Eastern Shore for a couple hours and looked around and then I went to Wal-Mart with the copyright release form in hand. Our wonderful photographer Johanna gave me permission to sign her name. You'll never guess what happened. The woman handed me my pictures without asking to see my copyright release form. Imagine that!!

Friday is our Christmas Cookout and I feel like I have so much to do. I want to get my house in order and clean. Joey has a long to do list for outside and I have to grocery shop. I want to take Finley to Bellingrath Gardens one night this week too. I was afraid it would be too cold out, but today is was 70 degrees so I don't think it will be a problem. I was thinking about getting one of those little pop out strollers. I have one that our car seat fits on and it's great when I go to the mall or somewhere and I have a lot of stuff to stow, but I want a little one for quick trips in and out of places. Any suggestions?