It's all downhill from here

So, it's official.  I am in the last year of my *gasp* twenties.

But before I discuss that nonsense, let me first just say I would never make it as a northerner.  AR experienced an ice-apocalypse last week, and it was terrible!  We expected it Friday, and I figured it would nix the ability to do anything for most of the weekend.  However, I did not count on it sticking around for so long.  Collin went back to school last Wednesday.  FINALLY! 

And here's why I say that, because my office in Texas did not receive any ice and was still operating at full capacity.  That meant I was stuck trying to work during Collin's naptime.  The rest of the day was spent preparing to bundle up, actually bundling up and then un-bundling so we could play in stuff that resembled snow but wasn't actually snow.  Try explaining that to a 3 year old.  Also, being on house arrest with a 3 year old would be so much more enjoyable if he appreciated a good Hallmark Christmas movie like I do.  But alas, he does not find them amusing and so it is that I have only managed to finish one this season.  You'll find me on the couch one night in March watching one, I'm sure.

SNOW!!! (But not really...really it's just ice.)

And now...

I celebrated my 29th birthday on Saturday.  I told Jarrod to get used to celebrating that year because we will be doing it several more times!

I don't even know how this is possible.  I don't feel a day over 22.  Except for the fact that I think bedtime is a firm 10:00 pm.  Going to a midnight movie is for hooligans.  Really, going to any movie that starts after 7:30  pm is for hooligans.  Short-shorts and tube tops are for hussies.  Lip-gloss is only for extremely special occasions.  Vegetables are delicious.  And if I won the lottery, I would probably blow it all at Baby Gap instead of Forever 21.

Whether I want to admit it or not, I have changed a lot in the past ten years.  I'm a wife and a mom, not a college freshman.  Even if it does feel like that was just yesterday.

So to celebrate, Jarrod saved up and surprised me with a "big girl" purse.  Something that did not come from Target.  I also upgraded my phone, (but that was a long time coming).  

We celebrated on Saturday morning by attending the birthday of a sweet 2 year old.  Collin has not stopped talking about how we didn't have cake for my birthday, and I just keep telling him it's okay because we had cake at Amelia's party.  (See, doesn't that sound like the logic of a grown woman and not a college co-ed?!)

Collin was also sweet enough to spend the morning of my birthday singing to me pretty much non-stop.  It alternated between Happy Birthday to You! and DMB Where are you Going?

After Amelia's party, Collin went to play at the house of our Community Group leaders and it turned into a mini vacation for him.  Jarrod and I went to Little Rock for the day and didn't get home until Collin had gone to bed, so I tearfully agreed that it made sense to leave Collin where he was until the morning.  I didn't have to go through Collin's bedtime routine, and the next morning when it was time to get ready for church I only had myself to worry about.  Craziness!

It was fun to have a night out on the town and to try to remember what it's like to flirt with my husband, but we both agreed that we missed the routines with our little guy.

And now, for a freebie today... 

We've been talking a lot about the Christmas story around our house.  Collin can put a mean Nativity scene together and explain to you who everyone is.  I've spent a lot of time the last week or two thinking about Advent, and this song gets me every time...  I think it's the fact that I'm the mom of a little boy.  I can't help but put myself in Mary's shoes and think what it must have been like to hold that tiny, helpless baby - wondering at what must be ahead for Him.

You're Here - Francesca Battistelli

Thanksgiving 2013

We spent Thanksgiving in Texas with my family, and for the first time in a long while I was actually ready when it came time to leave.  I know my parents were certainly ready to have their house back!  But for the first time, we got to spend enough time with my niece that we were okay when it was time to part.  I had forgotten how much tattling takes place between little people, and the energy/noise level is insane.

We arrived late Tuesday night and had Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday in order to accommodate my brother who had to fly out on Thursday.  We soaked up as much of baby Weston as we could!

Collin is always petting Weston's head, like a puppy :)

Because we did "Thanksgiving" on Wednesday, Jarrod and I were able to take Collin to see Santa on Thursday.  We have taken Collin to the Gaylord Texan every year since he was a baby just three months old, and every year he has gotten his picture made with the same wonderful Santa.  The first year, he was too young to know what was going on, but when he was one and two, he decided that sitting on Santa's lap was not for him.  So I have pictures of him screaming, crying and reaching out for me from the past two years.  I feel like it's something we will all laugh about in the future!

This year, Collin took note and realized that most other kids seem to like Santa.  He decided he would be a big boy and smile pretty on Santa's lap, and that's exactly what he did.

Since we went on Thanksgiving day, there wasn't any traffic getting there, we got right into the parking garage and parked on the bottom level.  Best of all, when it was time to leave, the parking attendant waived us out and told us not to worry about the $13 parking fee!  We declared it all a Thanksgiving miracle.  We had enough time to let Collin see some of the Christmas decorations.

And then it was slightly overshadowed by the crazies waiting at Walmart for Black Friday to begin.  We had to run in on our way home to pick up a few things...  I really thought since we were only getting a few food items, we would be fine.  The sales hadn't even begun yet, but I'm still baffled by what we saw.  People sitting in lawn chairs in the aisles, people standing with their hands on the items they were waiting for and refusing to make any room in the aisles so we could get through to the groceries. Insane in the membrane.

So most of our visit was spent hanging out and watching Collin play with his cousins.  Tinsley called me Aunt Nicki without having to be reminded of who I was.  One night when we were about to fall asleep, I said to Jarrod with a gooshy smile on my face, "Tinsley called me Aunt Nicki today".  And then he said, "Yeah, somebody tried to call me Aunt Jarrod today."

Don't be deceived by these angelic faces; the only way we could get them to smile was by shouting donkey poop!

Who doesn't love playing in a leaf pile?

These two monkeys had to "talk" to each other on two different cell phones.

Jarrod and I did sneak away Friday night to go see Hunger Games.  We both really enjoyed the movie, probably more than the first one.  What was more fun though, was the two of us trying to remember how to act when we are without a 3 year old.

And here's a freebie...I found Collin like this early one morning.  Apparently he rolled off of his bed and decided staying on the floor to sleep was a good idea.