Christmas is really almost here?

Wow, I really can't believe that Christmas is less than a week away....this year has gone by way too fast! We've been busy with recital, school parties and plays, and office parties these last few weeks so I am looking forward to things settling down the next few weeks. I'm almost done shopping and the majority of the gifts are wrapped and ready. The kids have no school the next two weeks, so I'm looking forward to spending more time with them at home instead of shuttling them back and forth so much. I have been on a crazy baking streak the last few weeks (which you will see if I ever get around to catching up on my recipe blog), so our kitchen has been a wreck...but at least it's fun. We started doing Elf on the Shelf right after Thanksgiving. Hannah named the elf Johnny, and Johnny flies to the north pole every night. We've been pretty creative with his hiding places, but sometimes will forget to hide him before bed. Kevin told me last night he woke up at 4:30 because he remembered he forgot to hide the darn thing. I had hoped this little elf would help curb some bad behavior that has been cropping up, but it really hasn't. Hunter has actually reminded me a few times when I'm doing something wrong that "Johnny is watching you". Gotta love that. I have to say though, it has been quite fun and the kids love trying to find him each morning. Here's some pics of this month...in random order.

office Christmas party in the limo....the limo had a blowout on the way back...whew that was a long, but fun, night!

Happy Birthday Jesus cake I made for the kids Christmas party at school...will be posting the marshmallow fondant recipe soon



decorating the tree

Happy Birthday Jesus Christmas Play at school...Hannah was a birthday party child...Hunter was a shepherd and had a speaking part. His one line was "Wow, that's great news" (about the Savior being born)...and he rocked it! I was so proud of both of them.

Hunter got to carry a staff...which he thought was really cool

And believe it or not, they actually took Santa pictures this year. Last year we didn't even make it inside Santa's hut...they were kicking and screaming so we decided it wasn't worth it. This year they jumped right up on his lap and told him what they wanted. Wow, what a difference a year can make!

Katy and I took the kids to the Christmas parade in downtown Conroe this year....I love parades...so do the kids:)

Vanity Makeover -DIY

I decided to post this little diy project to the blog because I'm still quite amazed at how well it turned out...I love the idea of making old furniture new but I don't necessarily like all the work that's involved in it:) I haven't really had a place to do my makeup, ever, since we moved into our house...so when Pam offered to give me her old vanity I took her right up on it. This vanity originally had a thick shiny varnish on it, so my main concern was getting the paint to stick to it. I'm trying to mesh my bedroom and bathroom together with a yellow and white theme, and found some cool fabric that went well with everything...so I decided to recover my old bathroom stool too. For whatever crazy reason, I decided to do all of this a few days before we had Thanksgiving at our house....maybe it kept me motivated to get it finished. It was all worth it, and actually really fun...not to mention cheap! Thank you Pam!

this was before...shiny varnish with brass hardware


old bathroom stool


after sanding ALL of the varnish off and removing hardware

after priming...used an oil based primer

stool recovered with new fabric...still want to spray the legs white

finished product with replaced drawer hardware

used a latex based white on white paint

Hannah's Christmas Dance Recital

Hannah had her very first dance recital this past Saturday at Conroe High School...it was one of those moments I have dreamed about ever since she was a baby, and it was so much fun. It was really crazy to me knowing that she was dancing on the same stage that I danced on so many years ago. She and the other girls in her class did awesome and were adorable...I honestly don't think Hannah fully grasped what a recital was until she saw the big stage. I had a flashback of her first dance class when she clung to my leg and wouldn't go into the classroom by herself, so it was a huge step for her just to walk out on that stage by herself and I am so proud of her. One of the older girls in the dance company took her under her wing when we first got there and held her hand and helped her throughout the whole night...I honestly don't know if she would have gotten through the night without that sweet little girl. I think the whole thing really brought a lot of the shyness out of her!

getting ready for the show

Hannah and Avery

hanging out with the older girls

big girls and little girls

Adalee, Hannah, and Avery posing in their tutu's

proud mama

running around before the show

Avery, Hannah, and Adalee -ballet routine...you can see the shock on Hannah's face

tap routine

showing off her roses from Gammy and Pa paw

finale

all tuckered out

Bass Fishing on the "Beach"

The last several weekends we have been going down to the boat ramp in our neighborhood and walking down along the lakeshore line, doing a little fishing and letting the kids run around and have fun. For those that don't know how dry Lake Conroe is, it's dry...really dry. Pretty much all the beautiful houses in our neighborhood that were once lakefront property are now beachfront. It's so weird to look around and see land and islands everywhere in places that were always under water before. I will be so happy when we can get a ton of rain to fill it back up again, but for now.....we are going to enjoy our newfound "beach". Kevin and I have been fishing, while the kids run around picking up all the clams that have was onshore and throwing them back in the water. It's really pretty fun, despite the unfortunate conditions. Might as well make the best of things, right?