Our holiday weekend!!

It’s been almost a week since I wrote. Wow, so much has happened. I’ll try to give you guys the short version..

 

Last Wednesday, we had a play date with my best friend and her son. They were visiting for Thanksgiving from Arizona. The kids had a good time and it was really nice to catch up. We hadn’t seen them in 14 months, which is crazy when you say it like that. It was awesome having them over.  It made me think that we need to invite other kids over for play dates. Em wasn’t into sharing his toys though. That was the only downfall, but I suppose most kids are that way when it comes to their stuff. Other than that, it was great. We had a nice visit and were extremely sad to see them go. I actually cried after they left. I’ll keep that to myself though. I’m not sure when we will see them again. I guess what I don’t understand is why they moved to be closer to her husband’s family when they can afford to fly back here 5-6 times a year. Why move closer to the people who visit frequently and can afford to visit? Her sisters can’t afford the airfare for themselves, or their children, so it just seems silly why you’d want to move across the country to be closer to people who constantly came to visit. I support whatever decision she wanted to make, but logistically, it doesn’t make sense. Maybe that is me being bitter, or something, but honestly, I have asked myself this question many times. We were chatting about airfare prices, etc, and she even said that her sister hasn’t paid her back yet for their visit earlier this year. Even for her to fly out here, it’s not that easy. The cost is insane. I just don’t get why you’d move so far away from people who literally cannot afford to come visit very often, yet his parents come out so many times a year. I guess she just wanted to be around his parents more than just a few times a year so that they could help her with her son.  We were happy to see them, but it sucks that it can’t be more often. I feel bad for her sisters though. I am sure it’s awful for them not being able to see their sister, or nephew.

 

Anyway, Thursday was the big day. We laid around most of the day watching Christmas movies, then went to my parent’s for dinner after naptime. It was nice. We weren’t there for very long. Just two hours. We had a good time though. I ate too much-shocker.  We headed home around 730pm. We took a couple of leftovers with us. Nothing major though. It was a nice holiday. My older sister ended up showing up. I was shocked. We haven’t seen her since June. Anyway, we didn’t talk, or anything, but it wasn’t hostile. It never is. I just prefer not to acknowledge her because she just isn’t a very nice person for what she has done to our family. I think it’s horrendous how she pretends Emerson doesn’t exist. She doesn’t have to like me, but to treat my child like he doesn’t exist is not right. She said “bye, be good buddy” to him on Thanksgiving. That was all she said to him. I pay close attention to her interaction with him. It’s easy to because it doesn’t exist. She apparently bought Emerson a Christmas present. Shocking. I had to ask her if she bought him a birthday present THREE months after his birthday. Funny, right? She said she did. Really? Then why didn’t you make it a point to see him for his second birthday to give it to him? That’s right, because you didn’t have a gift. She ended up bringing it to my nephew’s birthday party THREE MONTHS AFTER THE FACT. Anyway, it bothers me that she doesn’t ask me what she should get him for Christmas. She doesn’t know him, doesn’t know what we already have, etc, so why wouldn’t you ask? Apparently she bought him a piano that he can walk on. Okay, thanks, but he doesn’t really need any more toys, especially toys that are going to take up massive amounts of space because we have no room. He needs socks, underwear, warm clothes, extra hats, gloves, and a new coat. He needs fine motor toys like lacing puzzles. Yes, the thought counts, but why not ask me? She asks my sister what my nephew WANTS. I think she figures as long as she is buying him something that it doesn’t matter. Well, it does matter. What if we already owned that? I wouldn’t be surprised if she bought it from the salvation army, or got it as a hand me down from her girlfriend’s nephew. She’s really good for doing stuff like that. She isn’t financially struggling either. I think she just thinks because she doesn’t really like Emerson she can give him used crap as a Christmas present.  Thanks, but no thanks.  She’s bought him used clothing from the thrift store before that was way too big, or way too small because she never asks me sizes, or anything. The funniest is she purchases brand-new stuff for her girlfriend’s nephews. If everyone was getting used stuff, then fine, but that’s not the case. They get so much nice stuff from her. She invites them to her house and babysits them all the time. I don’t think Emerson even knows that she is his aunt. I’d rather not even see her for Christmas. Maybe she can just stay away until after we leave. That would be the best gift of all. I honestly cannot stomach how she bypasses my child like he isn’t even standing in front of her. You’d think for someone who isn’t having children, she’d actually cherish the time she has with her nephew. Nope. I think she held him a total of 3 times when he was a baby. She is just a sucky person.

 

Okay, enough of that. Friday, we ventured to the mall, so that Emerson could ride the Christmas train. We had a good time! He loved it. After the train, he threw a ton of coins into the fountain,  we walked around the mall, then had lunch. It was a pretty tame day. After nap, we just hung at home, had dinner, and watched “The Croods”. It was such a good movie! We ended up watching it a couple of more times over the weekend.

 

Saturday was Friendsgiving! My sister came over early to help me pack both of our cars with the chairs, tables, and décor. We headed to her house to set up. I cannot believe how gorgeous it all came out. I was so proud of myself! I worked so hard handmaking all of the decorations. I never get to do any kind of fancy party, so this tickled me pink! While I was hanging my handmade poms, the table collapsed underneath of me and I fell pretty hard. I was okay, but it was scary as hell! We laughed so hard afterward. Anyway, Em and I went home for lunch and nap, then got ready, and headed back to my sister’s house around 5pm. The party started at 6pm, but we had to make the mashed potatoes, and I had to get the spicy caramel appletinis ready. Everyone arrived mostly on time. I served everyone up martinis, while we waited for dinner. The kids were running around crazy! They had such a good time though. My sister did a great job on the turkey. It was so tender that it literally fell off the bone. We had plenty of seats for everyone. I was so nervous about that, but the kids migrated to the living room and put on a Christmas movie, while they ate. All of the adults sat in the dining room. Everyone had such a good time! The food was amazing. Everyone outdid themselves. We had so many leftovers. The mac and cheese was my favorite! I made sure I took leftovers home with me. Em tore that up!  It turned out so nice though and we had such a good time. We had a great group of people over. I can’t tell you enough how much we appreciated everyone coming together and contributing dishes. I can’t wait to throw another shindig!

 

Sunday was probably favorite day out of the whole holiday break. We spent the morning at my parent’s, then went home for lunch and nap. That evening, we headed to Kennywood for the lights! WOW. Absolutely magical. I can’t describe it any other way. I actually teared up a couple of times. It was so beautiful. The kids had such a great time. They had some of the rides open too, so I know they overly enjoyed that. We had hot chocolate and kettle corn too! Delicious!  It was so pretty! I hardly even felt like I was at the amusement park. We bundled up, but it really wasn’t that cold. I think we felt the most cold after we sat inside the theater for too long to watch the Polar Express in 4D. They had a mini version of the film, which lasted for about 15 minutes. We warmed up too much, so when we came back outside, we were all frozen. We ended up hanging out by one of the bon-fires that were set up and enjoying the light show. They had the lights synchronized with different Christmas songs. It was beautiful and so neat to watch! The kids were dancing and running around, while my sister and I watched in amazement. Three hours whizzed by so quickly. By the time we got home, and Em got a bath and in bed, it was nearly 9pm! That’s late for a school night.

 

Being back to work today is nice. It’s good to be back to our routine. We did enjoy our four days off. It was nice to sleep in a little. 7am is sleeping in for us. On Thanksgiving, we slept in until just after 9! That was a real treat. I have to say, Em was well-behaved our entire vacation. I didn’t have to yell too much-haha. These breaks can become rather exhausting if he’s extremely unruly. It sometimes turns into an all-day battle, but we worked together pretty well. I had enough to occupy him with activities at home, then adventures outside. On Thanksgiving, he painted a pumpkin, and colored a turkey, so that was fun. He loved it. I try to set up little activities throughout, so that he has enough structure to avoid finding trouble on his own. We have to do an art project this week to submit for the holiday contest this Wednesday. I plan on having Emerson paint a Santa canvas. Hopefully he wins! If so, he gets a $25 gift card to Toys R Us! My hope is that it doesn’t look like I helped too much. LOL.

 

This week, we have nothing planned at all. We’re just trying to get back into the swing of things.  On Friday, we’re attending the Festival of Trees. It’s a celebration of Christimas trees supplied from various schools, clubs, and organizations. It’s pretty cool, plus Santa will be there. Emerson isn’t too fond of Santa, but we’ll give it a try again. Our friend is actually playing Santa, so maybe Em will warm up to him. We’ll see! I think we’re going to see the Christmas lights on Sunday at Overly’s. I have to check with my sister. Funds are super low now that I’ve paid all the bills, friendsgiving, and Kennywood, so we’ll have to see. I’d prefer to do it when it’s still semi-warm out and this weekend is looking good, so it might be best to just do it now rather than later. It only costs $18 per car, so maybe my sister can split that with me since I paid for my nephew’s admission into the park last night, our hot chocolate, and kettle corn. On Saturday, there is a live reindeer event downtown in the strip, but I think we’re skipping that. I don’t want to use all of that gas, then have to pay to park. My  mom said she wanted to make new ornaments this weekend, so maybe we can just do that.

 

Alright, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and has a great week!

Here are some pics :)

Our weekend

This weekend was nice. I was off on Friday. Emerson and I lounged around pretty much all day until it was time to head downtown for Light up night. My sister and nephew came with us. We opted out of taking the stroller, which ended up wreaking havoc on me. Emerson wanted to be held more than I had expected. We parked about 15 minutes away from town, so we had to walk in and out. He walked for the most part, but there were times that he wanted held. The crowd was pretty thick once we got into town, so I did opt to hold him through those heavy periods, but he did pretty well. I was exhausted by the time we got home. It was really pretty and worth it though. I think the kids had a great time. I know my sister and I did.

 

On Saturday, we did nothing outside of visiting my parents. My mom and aunt were baking, so Em picked up a rolling pin and tried to help. It was pretty cute. We stayed there for a few hours before heading home to watch Arthur Christmas. Em wasn’t really into it. He missed most of the movie, but I enjoyed what I saw. I rented Bad Moms for myself after Em was in bed. It was awesome. There were a lot of laugh out loud moments. I was not disappointed.

 

Sunday, there was a little bit of snow on the ground, so we suited up and went out to play. Em loved it! I don’t mind snow as long as it doesn’t get in the way of my driving. We were lucky that there was just enough to coat the grass. I can live with that. Anyway, after that, we lounged around all day until it was time to bundle up for the Waterfront’s light up night. My best friend is in from Arizona, so we got to see her and her son. My sister and nephew came along with my other best friend, and a slew of other people. The kids had a great time! Em was not impressed by Santa though. He gave him the real stink eye.

 

This week, we are off on Thursday and Friday. We have a play date scheduled on Wednesday night with my best friend and her son. I’m so excited. we didn’t really get to talk last night at all, so it’ll be nice to actually get to sit down inside where it’s warm! It was so cold out last night. Anyway, we can’t wait to see them! Thursday, we’re just heading to my parent’s for dinner later in the day. Friday, we plan on going to Kennywood for the festival of lights, then Friendsgiving is on Saturday! I’ve worked so hard on my décor for Friendsgiving. It all came out so beautifully. I can’t wait to set it all up! Sunday, we don’t have anything planned. I imagine we’ll be pretty tuckered out from the holiday, so hanging at home will be nice.

 

I’m so poor this week. I have 41 cents. No joke, 41 cents. I won’t complain because we do have what we need, but it is kinda depressing. I get paid on Friday, so that’s a good thing, but I swear, money just goes too quickly. To occupy myself this week, I’m going to work on spray painting our green Christmas tree white. I want to decorate in all gold, black, and white. The good thing is I can reuse all of the décor I made for Friendsgiving in my livingroom for Christmas. For the tree, I just need to get some clear bulbs to decorate, ribbon, craft paper, and a couple of frames. I should be able to do it relatively cheap. I also plan on spray painting all of the bulbs that we currently have and just redecorating them to match our theme. I’m so cheap, but it really comes in handy! Why buy new stuff, when I can redo, then reuse what we have? I have a tiny white tree that I’d love to decorate for Emerson. I want to decorate letters for his name to put all over the tree. That would be so cute. We lost a leg to the stand though, so it’s pretty wobbly. I’m hoping once I dig through more of the Christmas décor, I’ll find it. Anyway, I’m excited to decorate for Christmas. I think it’ll look so nice!

 

For Christmas, we’re all pitching in to get my dad a snow blower. I’m hoping it goes on sale for cyber Monday, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I found some really awesome ones at a reasonable price with great reviews, so even if it doesn’t, we should still be alright. Let’s just hope everyone has their money ready for the 28th when I want to order it!

 

That’s about all I have for now. Have a super holiday, all!

 

Mini shoot!!

I got the pictures back from our mini shoot! They turned out amazing! I’m so blown away and happy with the outcome. Emerson and  don’t have many pictures outside of selfies. It’s so awesome that we actually have some nice ones now. I plan on having some of these printed and framed. My cousin did a great job. I had no idea she even got half of the pics that she took. She did it so effortlessly.

 

It’s supposed to snow pretty badly on Sunday. I’m so not ready for this. On Friday, it’s going to be 70 degrees. Ugh. The dramatic switch like that will make it even worse. We’re supposed to go to a light up night on Sunday, but I don’t know if that’ll be possible now. Hopefully it comes in quickly and stops early in the morning. If not, we’ll just stay home and make a date to play in the snow. It’s supposed to be high 40s next week, so whatever we get should melt pretty quickly. At least that is my hope!

 

Emerson had his first session with his behavioral therapist this past week. We added on another service in hopes of preparing him for preschool. He lacks a lot of focus and attention, which makes it difficult for him to perform tasks asked of him by his teacher. I’m hoping this does the trick and he’s prepared for preschool in the spring. Additionally, he was evaluated by three new therapist who will be taking over upon his 3rd birthday. He has to transition into another program due to his age. The program he is in now only covers 1-2 year olds.  Anyway, they all qualified him for their services. We will continue speech, developmental, and behavioral therapy. All three therapists said that Emerson is extremely smart, capable, and motivated. They have no doubt that he will catch up to where he needs to be once they work on his attention span.

 

I’m so excited for our Friendsgiving party. I need to start working on décor. I want to do a gold/white theme with rustic accents. I think it’ll be gorgeous. I’m going to make some big poms to hang from the ceiling hovering the table, a Friendsgiving banner, and spray paint some pumpkins glitter gold. Apart of the host’s duty is to provide a gorgeous table and décor. I plan on incorporating some tulle  and a lot of candles. My sister is handling the turkey, stuffing, and gravy. Divide and conquer. Our guests will all be bringing side dishes with them. I’m not sure what kind of turn out we will end up having. My sister and I will probably have to make a couple of sides, but that shouldn’t be an issue. I can whip up some mashed potatoes. My sister plans to stuff the turkey with apples and onions. Apparently it makes the turkey really moist and gives a nice flavor to it. I believe she’s going to season with rosemary too.

 

Alright, that’s about all I have for today. Have a super week J

 

Christmas Photos!

I suck anymore at updating. I’m sorry, guys! This past weekend, I did our Christmas photos. They came out so cute! I made my own set and everything. I also took photos for my sister and nephew. I’m so surprised at how well they came out. You’ll see pictures below. These are probably the best photos I’ve taken so far with incorporating my own set. Em did pretty well. You know how it is with a 2 year old. You get more candids, than anything, but those tend to be my favorite. On Sunday, we had my cousin take some photos of us. I can’t wait to get those back. I don’t know how those came out yet, but I’m anxious to see. We just went to a local park to have some taken. Em and I hardly have any photos outside of selfies together, so hopefully we got some decent shots!

 

I actually ventured out on Friday night with my friends. I dropped Emerson off at my sister’s house around 745pm. She gave him a snack, bath, then put him to bed by 9pm. I was shocked that he actually went to sleep for her. We have never attempted that at all. I ended up staying out until midnight. To be honest, I didn’t have that great of a time. It felt kind of boring to me. I’m just such a different person these days. I don’t really enjoy the bar setting at all.  The next time I go out, I’ll really consider the plans to make it worth it. Anyway, I slept on her couch. Em woke up around 6:40am. I heard him open her bedroom door, then close it. She slept in her son’s room, so he wasn’t disturbed at all. I tried laying back down with him, but he wasn’t having it.  We ended up waking my nephew and sister up around 7, grabbing breakfast, and hanging out for the morning. It was actually really nice. I was so worried that the dog would have an accident, but when we got home, it was fine. She held it the entire time from 8pm-9am. She is usually good all day when I’m at work, but wasn’t sure how it would be overnight. We’ve never left her like that before either. I was prepared for the worst. Bullet dodged.

 

This upcoming week, we have a lot planned. My best friend is visiting with her 2 year old from Arizona. If you remember, they moved last September. Anyway, they will be home for a week. We plan on seeing them a couple of times, which will be nice. Emerson and I took the day off on Friday. It’s light up night in the city, so we’re venturing down with my sister and nephew. I know it’ll be crazy, but I’m hoping we still have a lot of fun even with a large crowd. It’ll be a really nice way to kick off the holiday season. On Saturday, we have no plans at all. I think I’ll keep it that way too. I definitely am on the broker side of things right now, so spending any money is not an option. Sunday, we’re doing another light up night in another area with my friend who is in from AZ, her sisters, my sister and nephew, and another friend of ours. It should be a good time. 

 

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week! My best friend and her son are coming over on Wednesday night for a play date. Thursday, we’ll venture to my parent’s house for dinner. Friday, we’re going to the amusement park (Kennywood) for their Christmas light display.  Saturday, we’re having a Friendsgiving dinner, which I’m so excited for! I need to start making some décor for dinner. The host’s duty includes the turkey, ice, and beautiful décor. My sister is handling the turkey, so I need to uphold my end of the bargain.  By the time next Sunday rolls around, we’re going to be wiped!

 

I finished Christmas shopping for Emerson. I only bought him three things. I got him a train table, a light up race track, and this awesome, little people car ramp that stands about 2ft high.  I know he will love everything, so I’m not concerned that I didn’t get him 20 gifts. I want to put movie tickets in his stocking along with a new spin brush, a bath toy, and soap. I am getting my nephew’s gift this week. I already purchased my mom’s gift. We’re getting my dad’s gift on Cyber Monday. That just leaves my sister, which I already have an idea for that. This year went by so quickly. I can’t believe it’s the holidays.

 

Alright, that’s about all I have for now. I’m so interesting…NOT.

Our weekend

This weekend was so nice. On Saturday, I took Emerson to The Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library. It’s a large space filled with every toy imaginable. Tons of ride on cars and scooters, climbers, slides, trampolines, play houses, puzzles, trucks, trains, etc.  We were there for about 2 hours. He loved it. Our first visit was free too, so we didn’t have to pay anything.  Afterwards, we picked up soup and sandwiches and took it over to my sister’s house for lunch. We stayed there for a few hours. It was nice just hanging out. When we got home, Emerson took a 2 hour nap, while the dog and I sat in the yard. The weather was gorgeous. 65 degrees and sunny! I love it and I do not look forward to the day when this ends.

 

On Saturday night, we watched “The Good Dinosaur”. I wasn’t a fan. Too morbid for this mama.  The entire movie was just way too intense. There were more sad moments, than happy. I just do not enjoy movies like that. Em seemed to like it, but then again, I’m sure he didn’t understand the full content of what was going down.

 

Sunday was a bit rough. Daylight savings always screws me up. Em slept in until 918am, but it was really 818am with the time change. We hung in our pjs for most of the day. We ended up heading out around noon to meet up with my sister. We took Emerson bike riding. Well, we tried at least. He still hasn’t gotten the hang of it, but I’m confident with some practice, he will be riding in no time. Afterwards, we played at the park, then took Em for ice cream. Again, the weather was too gorgeous not to.  Em ended up taking a late nap when we got home. We just hung at home the rest of the night. He did wake up around 1am and would not go back to sleep until around 230am. I was NOT happy about that. I have no idea what was going on, but I hope that was just a fluke. Mom doesn’t play those games!

 

This week, we aren’t doing anything. A lot of lounging at home.  This weekend, we’re playing it pretty low-ley as well. I want to get the Christmas pictures done at some point, so I need to get busy on putting together our photo shoot set. Let’s hope it comes out nicely. I’m thinking we’ll be able to do it on Sunday. I’ll get the supplies on Friday and start working on it throughout Saturday and Saturday night. On Friday night, I’m going out with some friends. My sister is going to keep Emerson at her house. I’ll head there afterwards. If she can get him to bed, then we’ll just sleep over there. If not, then we’ll go home and I’ll put him to bed at home.

 

I’m buying Emerson, my nephew, and my mom Christmas presents this weekend. We’re scaling back so much, but even still, I feel like I can barely afford this. I’d rather do stuff over buying gifts. Emerson is just getting a few things from me. I’d rather be able to pay for us to go out and do stuff over him having more toys at home. He already has so many toys that he isn’t even playing with. I got him the train table, a race track/car set, and I’m getting him an airplane play set that I know he’ll love. I’d like to get him some puzzles, and movie tickets for his stocking. We’ll see how things fall over though.

 

Alright, that’s all I have for today. Happy Monday, all!

 

 

 

Some pics!