Christmas Rush

It's so hard to believe that Christmas is in just a few days. I've waited since Halloween for this time to finally get here and now that it is I'm not ready for it to end. This Christmas has not been at all what I wanted it to be. It's primarily my own fault for letting situations beyond my control affect my mood and life to the point that nothing becomes enjoyable. I let my emotions rule me and this is something I really want to change. I had so many plans of what me and Maddy were going to do during the Christmas season. Out of everything I had planned...we only did 1 of those things and that certainly didn't go like I had planned. I feel as if the devil has just come and ruined everything good about Christmas this year and it's a little disappointing...even more disappointing that I allowed it. I still have high hopes of how I want Christmas morning to go, but I'm learning to not have any expectations that way you aren't as disappointed. This year for Christmas, my sister and her 2 girls will be spending the night Christmas Eve night so come Christmas morning we will have 3 girls ready to see what Santa brought them. I'm so excited for Maddy's Christmas this year...i think i'm really excited because she's at the age where she can enjoy things. I find myself still saying oh Maddy needs that and oh she would love that, but I need to be a good steward with my money as well as not spoil her just yet lol. Tomorrow we will be finishing up our Christmas shopping and then once she goes to bed tomorrow night I will be cleaning my room up like a mad dog cause my 2 nieces are probably going to be sleeping in my room and it's just a huge mess right now. I should be cleaning it right now, but it's an overwhelming task and I just don't even know where to put anything. I am so thankful to have a mom who is willing to take me back into her home while I can't afford my own place right now, but because I did have my own place for 2 years I have a lot of stuff that just doesn't fit all into one room. Well, if I'm going to get up at 6 tomorrow morning I guess I should try to get some sleep now.

Thanksgiving 2010

Maddy had her first real Thanksgiving meal this year and enjoyed every minute of it. My child eats round the clock...literally, but doesn't gain hardly anything. I'd give anything to have metabolism that high lol. I was disappointed because I did not get out in time to get her any Thanksgiving outfits so I had to do the best with what we already had. I decided to go with a brown dress. Our Thanksgiving started off at my grandparent's house. I think my family thought I was nuts, but I did strip Maddy down to just her diaper. I knew we had other places to be and I didn't want to get her "Thanksgiving" outfit dirty. She had turkey, ham, mac and cheese, a roll, green beans, corn, dressing, mashed potatoes, and a deviled egg. She pretty much ate her entire plate minus the mac and cheese and roll. Once I put her food on her high chair she went to town and was so super quiet. She is very serious about her food but she does occasionally look around at what is going on around her while she is chewing. Once we were done eating I put her clothes back on and let her walk around. Her cousins were there one of which she's only seen once. Aria is just now able to get out more because she had a very expensive RSV shot..it costs $1800 but with everything she has been through when she was born...they have to be extra careful with her and germs. Maddy would just look at Aria. Her other cousins Sara and Abby were there and Maddy enjoyed seeing them as well. Maddy really does have a big heart and she loves kids...I think it will be interesting to see if she grows up loving kids or if it's just a "hey you're my size" kinda thing. My love for kids developed at a somewhat young age, but mine was because my dad was verbally abusive and I wanted to see to it that no kid ever felt the way he made me feel. Once we left my grandmother's, we went to Maddy's dad's grandmother's house. Maddy doesn't know them very well, so she was a little more reserved and quiet. She wanted to stay close to mommy and daddy, but would watch to see what everybody was doing. Her cousin Tripp was a little on the wild side...I think they are cousins...they are something lol...he was a little more rough which made me a little nervous but luckily Maddy didn't get hurt. After Maddy walked around and played a little bit over there she was ready for her dinner. Her dad gave her some turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce, but she only wanted to eat the cranberry sauce...when she'd eat it all off her highchair she would say "more more" and do the sign for more. It's so cute..her daycare helps teach them sign language so they can communicate better and she picked up on "more" really quick and it's just so neat to see her do that..sometimes she doesn't even say it and will just do the sign, but she normally says it first THEN does the sign. After she ate we packed up and headed home. I'm gonna steal Wendy's idea and post a pic of last Thanksgiving and then one of this Thanksgiving. It's so crazy to think about how different things were this year verses last year. Last year she was only 2 months old and I did Thanksgiving on my own...single mom type thing...and went to my family's and then let her dad see her after we were both done with our family.

                                                           Thanksgiving 2009

                                                                Thanksgiving 2010

                                                                         Cousins