Last week of 2012! (Week 52: 365 Project)

Happy New Year!!!

It's hard to believe that 2012 is already over, but we are looking forward to a fresh start in 2013!  Here's to a year of good health and happiness!

It's also hard to believe that I actually finished my 365 project!  I love being able to look back and see what we did every day of the year!

So here's a glimpse of our last week in 2012:

DECEMBER 23rd

Grant and I decided to stay home for the day.  Basically, a day to relax before the Christmas craziness set in! We all slept in, which was nice. Grant let me sleep an additonal hour, because I had been up wrapping half the night before! I ended up helping Dylan clean and organize his room, then started a bake-a-thon.  Dozens of peanut butter blossoms, frosted cut-out sugar cookies, chocolate chop cookies, and 2 batches of peanut butter fudge later, I was finished!  After the kids went to bed, Grant and I built the last of the two gifts:  an easel and a Dora Quad!






DECEMBER 24th

Christmas Eve!  We started out our day by having our friend and her kids over for brunch.  After brunch, I cleaned the house, and we all got ready for our evening plans.  We spent the evening with my family at my sister's house, then spent the evening with Grant's family at his Nannie's house.  We left just before midnight to head home and get ready for Christmas morning.



DECEMBER 25th

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! We had a wonderful day with our families!




DECEMBER 26th

We woke up to several inches of snow and crappy roads, so we declared it a pajama day and stayed home all day!  The kids played outside for a bit, but for the most part, we stayed indoors and played with new stuff.





DECEMBER 27th

We spent the day running errands.  Later that afternoon, Grant picked up his new car and I took Dylan to his 8 year checkup.  We returned home and stayed in for the night.





DECEMBER 28th

That morning, my great niece, Aubrey, came over for a playdate.  That afternoon and evening, the kids and I went to visit my parents. While there, Lexie lost her 2nd tooth! We returned home after dinner and I spent the evening cleaning.





DECEMBER 29th

Another day spent at home.  We made up for our ultra-busy year this week by staying home as much as possible!  That afternoon, Grant's mom stopped over for a visit and she and I ended up playing Just Dance 4. Around dinner time, my nephew, Brandon, and great-niece, Aubrey, came over for a sleepover.  The kids had so much fun that night!







DECEMBER 30th

The kids woke up late, then spent some time playing.  They went outside for a bit to play in the snow.  That afternoon, I drove my nephew home and Dylan ended up staying to spend the night.  I returned home, and shortly after, Aubrey left.  The rest of the day was spent with my sweet girls.  We had a lot of cleaning to do, but also made time to play!






DECEMBER 31st

We had a busy last day of the year!  Grant's mom came over to watch the girls so Grant and I could go on a late morning/afternoon date.  We went to see Les Mis, and it was absolutely breathtaking.  I cried from the beginning to the end, and even afterward!  It was an amazing movie.  After the movie, we picked Dylan up at my sister's house.  We visited with her for a bit before heading to the bank and grocery store.  When we returned home, my dad and my uncle were at our house visiting.  The kids were thrilled to open a few gifts from their beloved Great Uncle Mickey.  After they left, we got ready to leave for a New Year's Eve party.  By the time we left our house, the roads were horrible.  Grant ended up getting our SUV stuck in our friend's driveway.  Every other guest arriving after us ended up getting stuck, too!  Once we arrived, the majority of us changed into our pajamas before eating dinner.  It was a great night spent with some of our closest friends.  We ate, talked, laughed, and played games while the kids played together.  It was a great end to 2012!

Week 51!

Only 1 week to go in my 365 Project!

DECEMBER 16th

We visited Grant's family in the afternoon.  Afterward, the girls and I went to my moms group Christmas party.  It was so much fun!  The little girls had a book exchange, my friends and I had an ornament exchange, and we had a cookie exchange.  I love that group of ladies and their sweet kids so much!




DECEMBER 17th

After the big kids went to school, Grant, Lily, and I tried to finish our Christmas shopping.  We ended up getting most of it done!  Grant and I picked up some drinks from Starbucks before picking Lexie up from Kindergarten.  That evening, Grant's mom joined us for dinner and a Christmas show.  We all snuggled up on the couch and just enjoyed the moment...the Christmas lights, the Christmas show, the laughing kids. It was a great night!





DECEMBER 18th

Lexie went to school dressed in pajamas, for Polar Express Day.  They got to watch the movie and they even had a special visit from Santa!  Meanwhile, Lily and I met my friends Amber and Steph and Lily's friend Lily for breakfast at IHOP.  Amber and I picked our kids up from Kindergarten.  I ran a few errands after dropping them off, then went home and joined the girls in napping.  I haven't been sleeping well lately, and I was dragging!  Afterward, I got Dylan off the bus, and then my sister stopped by to visit.  Finally, we made the trip to a nearby town to see Santa again!  After visiting with Santa, we had dinner at Pizza Hut.  We ended our fun evening by checking out the light displays in town.  Once home, the kids got their baths and headed to bed.  Grant and I stayed up so late building Lexie's big Christmas present...a huge dollhouse!



DECEMBER 19th

Grant and I drove the kids to school then ran a bunch of errands and did some Christmas shopping until Lexie was done with Kindergarten.  After picking her up, we came home for a quick lunch, then Lexie and I went shopping to pick up a few things for Grant. I took Lexie to gymnastics, then we finished up our shopping before returning home.  That evening, we went to our friend's house for dinner.  While they were visiting, I had to leave to go to a contact parent meeting to get the Lexie's teacher's gift ready.  I went back to my friend's house and we visited a bit longer.  Once home, the kids went straight to bed.




DECEMBER 20th

The kids headed to their last day of school before the Holiday Break.  Dylan had his Holiday party right afer he arrived at school.  I was a parent volunteer for Lexie's Holiday party.  Her class had a great time with the games and the craft.  The police officer patroling the school even joined in on a game of Pin the Heart on the Grinch! Lexie was able to come home with me after her party.  After lunch, we ran a few last-minute Christmas errands.  That evening, we stayed at home and relaxed.  Grant and Dylan built a Halo set Dylan received for his birthday.  Lexie and I completely cleaned and organized her room.  Dylan and Lexie ended the night with a movie and a sleepover in Dylan's room.







DECEMBER 21st

We went to visit my parents for the day.  My mom and I braved the stores that evening.  My mom had some Christmas shopping to do and I had to do my grocery shopping. When we left the store, the snow was falling, and the roads were horrible.  Luckily, when I left their house about an hour later, the roads had been cleared.  I spent the rest of the evening cleaning and doing laundry while the kids had another sleepover.




DECEMBER 22nd

We relaxed at home most of the day.  I did a lot of wrapping while Grant finished up his Christmas shopping and wrapped my presents.  That evening, we invited some friends over for a pre-Christmas dinner.  It was a lot of fun!  After everybody left, the big kids had another movie/sleepover.  After everybody was asleep, I began to wrap the remaining gifts.  I started at midnight, and finally finished at 3:45 AM! 

Week 50 In Review {365 Project}

Here we are, just 9 days away from Christmas!  This year went by so quickly.  It's hard to believe I only have 2 more weeks left in the 365 project! 

WEEK 50

DECEMBER 9th

We spent the day visiting Grant's family.




DECEMBER 10th
A typical, busy school day for us.  I honestly can't remember everything we did!





DECEMBER 11th

We went Christmas shopping after the big kids went to school.  That afternoon, Lexie had storytime at the library.  That evening, I took Christmas pictures of my kids.



DECEMBER 12th

That afternoon, Lexie had gymnastics. After gymnastics, Lexie and I did some shopping.  We returned home, and stayed home for the evening.





DECEMBER 13th

We spent the afternoon visiting my parents.  We had dinner with them, then returned home.




DECEMBER 14th

After picking Lexie up from school, Grant, the girls, my mother-in-law, and I went out to lunch.  After school, Dylan had a playdate with a classmate at his classmate's house while Lexie and I did some shopping.  We picked Dylan up, then did some grocery shopping.  I treated the kids to some donuts before we headed home.  While we were gone, Grant's friend was doing some repairs on our garage door and Lily was taking a late nap.  When we returned, our friends came over for dinner.  They ended up spending the night.  As with the rest of America, I spent the day stunned over the horrific news of the school shooting.  It was an emotional day.  That night, I headed to bed early, and took my girls with me.  If Dylan's friend wasn't over, I would have let him sleep in our room, too.  I just wanted to hold my babies close to me.




DECEMBER 15th

My sweet baby girl had a rough day!  It started with her screaming from 5 AM until 9 AM.  I immediately knew it was an ear infection.  Don't hate, but she is one of those kids who sleeps 12-14 hours a night without making a sound.  I can always tell when something is wrong, because she wakes up during the night.  Once Urgent Care opened, I took her in.  They confirmed the start of an ear infection along with a sinus infection.  Because of her Neutropenia, they put her on an antibiotic to be safe.  Two hours after arriving home from Urgent Care, she attempted to climb into her toy shopping cart, tipped over, and hit her face.  She ended up with a bruised cheekbone, and bit through both sides of her lip and her tongue.  Blood was everywhere, but we didn't have to take her back in.  She was feeling better by that afternoon, so we went to a Christmas party, as planned.  The kids had a great time!  They got to see a magician AND sit on Santa's lap!