Two of the cutest Christmas tree decorators ever...

I know boys aren't suppose to be pretty...but mine totally is pretty...

and he loved the ornaments..

The ornaments did not love him.

Maybe if I hold my mouth right I can grab that one..

and throw it.

because I'm a boy..and that's what we do with things that look like balls.

Ok, I know what you're thinking. Why in the world is Hudson wearing a football outfit while decorating the tree? Because we were watching SEC (the best) football while we were pulling out Christmas crap decorations. Miss St vs Ole Miss. Florida vs FL State. I know..I should've went and changed him into something Christmasy..but I'm a lazy loser (according to Anna. Yes, she told me this yesterday because I'm not a fast worker like she is.) and I didn't stop to change him. I'm a disgrace to Southern Smocking loving, theme dressing (along with all being dressed alike) mama's everywhere.

Are these not the cutest profiles you've ever seen?

Anna did have on a Christmas shirt..it says "Dear Santa, Please don't talk to my teacher"

and because of this helpful beauty and I am minus 5 ornaments this year.

This is what most of the afternoon was like..Anna chasing Hudson.

I know..I wish I had those lips too. She doesn't have lipstick or chapstick on.

Isn't this the cutest jacket ever? We were leaving to head to my il's for dinner.

I will say..decorating the dining room 3 times (Hudson's b'day, Thanksgiving & Christmas) in a week is NOT fun. and to think..after spending a entire weekend putting all this crap decorations up, we get to take in down a few weeks. I'm so excited. not.

Can you tell Christmas is NOT my favorite time of the year?

I am excited about Christmas Vacation (the movie) and my new DVR that took a 1/2 day to install and now I have a new whole in my wall as shown below.

(all of that dust on the baseboard was definitely caused by the drilling by the direct dude. Surely MY baseboards would never be that dusty. even if they are behind a big screen tv that was bought a year ago to go in the mancave. the mancave that was suppose to be finished a year ago.)

That hole, I slightly freaked over. Ya'll....their (my husband and the directv worker) plan was to put this hole in the wall as shown (which is next to the french doors in my bedroom) and run the cable to the middle of the wall to my tv. along the wall. as in black cord freely going along the wall. They thought this was a good idea. seriously.

 So now I have a new hole in my floor. Who knew it would be so much involved to getting DVR? My suggestion (which apparently is the brilliant one) is to come up from the basement and from the floor that the cabinet is over as shown here:

I mean it only makes sense to put the hole in the floor since apparently this tv armoir can never be moved thanks to the lovely holes in my wall that my sweet husband put in it.

So let this be a lesson learned my friends. When you hear power tools going and there is a worker and your husband at the root of it..find out what they're doing. pronto.

All of this fun brought to you by bah humbug Gretchen. More to come!

The post about being Thankful

You already know how thankful I am for this:

My sweet family

(and for those ceiling tiles hanging on my wall)

I'm thankful that I got this:

picture of my three healthy, beautiful children where they are all looking straight, everyone is smiling (and no tears! yea!). I'm very thankful for the healthy part.

I'm thankful that Walmart was open on Thanksgiving and still had the long sleeved brown shirt in Tatum's size (ok, so maybe they didn't have her size and I crammed her into a smaller size). I'm thankful that my monogram machine cooperated with me so I could monogram Hudson's & Tatum's shirts that I finished up about 30 seconds before my doorbell rang.

2 out of 3 looking at me isn't bad..

(I'm also thankful that Anna whispered in my ear about her observation that we were the only white people in Walmart.)

I'm thankful that my aunt joined us for Thanksgiving dinner

I can't put into words how thankful I am for these 2 wonderful people. Also known as my mom & dad.

No my dad isn't in pain or retarded. That is his "smile".

I'm thankful that I grew up with this wonderful family and Haley. I miss her so much and wish she was here with us..

I'm thankful I didn't inherit my height from my mother. ha! I swear my dad has teeth.

I'm thankful for this family:

I'm thankful for my mother-in-law and father-in-law whom also joined us

I'm thankful that our parents get along so well and we can all get together at one place and not have to run here & there on holidays.

(The only picture I could find of them was of them eating and I'm pretty sure they would've disowned me had I posted it)

I'm even thankful for this nutcase:

aka my cousin Mark from CA

and I'm especially thankful for this:

broccoli salad, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, black eyed peas, corn casserole, carrot souffle, broccoli casserole, peach cobbler, deviled eggs, slaw, turkey & dressing. Not pictured was chocolate cake, carrot cake, gorilla bread, pumpkin cream cheese pie, rolls, green beans and turkey gravy.

I'm thankful for a quiet house right now. For a sleeping baby and a recharging sleeping Anna. (Tatum is spending the night away. I miss her.)

I'm thankful I have a job (even though I had to work today. DURING the Iron Bowl). I'm very thankful that I had a TV at work to watch the game and fun people to watch it with. I'm thankful that I didn't have any phone calls from customers during the game.

I'm thankful that the Crimson Tide pulled it out and beat Auburn! ROLL TIDE ROLL!

I'm thankful that my dad went out and got me a Cricut since I had to work.

I'm thankful that Directv is coming tomorrow to install DVR. Hopefully I won't have to waste my entire day waiting on them (who am I kidding?).

I'm just thankful..

Hudson's 1st birthday party!

It's been par-tay central around here this weekend getting ready for Hudson's first birthday party.

I'll be honest...I got most of the ideas from here: Polkadot Package

Let's start at the front door

Overall shot of the dining room

The banner I made going across the front of the table. You can make your own to by following these directions: Vanessa Christenson

Here is the fabulous cake that Kara  & Bree made...I. loved. it. So did everybody at the shower..

Billy and my fil made the cake stand

Not only does it look pretty but it tasted good too!!

and she put his initials on the back pockets. How cute is that?

I'm still laughing at Bree after looking at all my crap decorations saying "you must have a lot of time on your hands" (not in a mean way). HA! Nothing could be further than the truth..a jr. high cheerleader running to basketball games, a 6 yr old in dance class, juggling lots of homework, a one year old son, a full time job, and a husband, and house to clean. Too much time on my hands. HA! Glad I could fool ya though!

The chip & dip table

(how cute is Tatum in that wanted poster? she is 3)

Here are the pictures above the chip table. This is so thrown together because I'm so tired so they're not even. I really didn't even put forth an effort on the collage:

Click on it to make it bigger

Here are the pictures to the right of the buffet

I made 4 of the wanted posters from this: Scrap Girls

and I made the middle red one from here: Dani Mogstead

I also made his invitation from that kit but can't find a copy of it on this computer. I will add it later.

I also did a bad job at cloning out his last name.. forgive me..I'm worn OUT.

The Buffet

Billy & my fil welded the horseshoes together to hold the plates & napkins too. Look at the boots holding the forks & spoons. Those were Anna's..

The kids played pin the badge on the sheriff and I had a lifesize poster of Hudson taped up and badges with the kid's names on them. They were blindfolded and spun around and told to stick. Raye won..Anna was so far off she didnt even hit the poster. and cried. She can't handle losing. Anyway, after they were done I took the badges and stuck self sticking pins to them and the kids wore them. Fun!

Part of the group

My birthday boy about to blow out his candle (Tatum really blew it out)

My Aunt Robin and Hudson. This was outfit #1

Outfit #2..aka cake eating outfit

Look at me saying "He took a step". He's standing on the table heading for his cake.

Again..he wasn't too keen on getting his hands dirty.

After Britney game him a bite he decided he wanted her to feed him.

Jade decided she WOULD have a piece of the cake...

 

I think he's saying please Lord..how do I eat this cake without having to touch it

Ah HA!

Much happier now that he figured out he could eat it without touching it. I think all he ate was the icing. I don't think he ever bit through to cake..ha!

After cake, he got cleaned up he put on warm clothes (aka outfit 3..it was like a host at an awards show. ha!) and was sleepy. I love this picture. He's definitely becoming more of a Daddy's boy now that I've stopped nursing and daddy can feed him more.

After most of the guests left I forced got our family to take some pictures

(Anna's dress...I made it. with no pattern..it turned out cute.)

 L to R: My mil Neda,  me, Anna, Hudson, my sister Madelyn, niece Saydee, my mom (Stevie), my aunt Robin and Tatum

I'm cracking up at my kids here..can you tell they are all spent here?

It was a great party..lots of fun, lots of gifts, lots of sugar. He may get another one at around age 5! I'm. worn. out.

Hudson's first cake!

 He wasn't too sure about touching that cake at first..and kinda flipped trying to get it off of him.

 

 

 Hey Tatum..wanna bite?

I think I'll take a bite too!

I still can't believe he's one..wow. AND I'm super excited that it's been 4 hours since he ate it and no vomiting. Maybe he's outgrown the FPIES? Not sure but I'm so glad!!!