AhHHHHHHH!!!!

No that is not a relaxing ahhhhhh!!!! its a pull your hair out, O boy I got so much to do before Christmas AHHHHHH!!!!!

This could be a short blog today, I have brownies in the oven for the "praise dinner" at church tonight, the second of the Christmas season festivities (last night we enjoyed the annual Christmas parade and town light up)

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Now I love, big church get togethers, but part of me is stressing out a bit, not about the brownies, made them thousands of times, and people love em, they will be fine (thanks Cathy for the recipe), nor is it the get together, I love potlucks.No it is the fact that a praise dinner means that Thanksgiving is this week, and that is the start of the Christmas season.

Courtney as you know from last year will be expecting a tree and decorations by the end of the week. And here is where the stress begins, do we have Christmas here or over at the Reno house that will be oh so close to completion by Christmas.

If here then I take this week that is marked as our Fall Break and put my hours normally put in homeschooling and put them into cleaning the place up (it needs it, I have been spending a lot of hours over at the reno lately and its way behind!!!!)

OR do I forget our current home a bit longer and go painting crazy at the Reno home to insure we are in before Christmas.

Oh and don't forget option C, I spend the week clutter busting our current home to get ready to move, and then at weeks close set up one room at the Reno home to have Christmas in whether we move or not. That way Courtney's little christmas tree fanatic heart is put to rest!!! (And I do mean Fanatic that girl redecorates our christmas tree daily)

You see the kitchen is done, except for the counters, and Jack could easily get those completed by Christmas , also done is the study off the kitchen and I could simply move over a small couch and set up the tree there. The boys beds are done (jack made them new bunk beds) and in their rooms, and Courtney's just needs a mattress. Our bed as you know is already there!!! Has been since summer. Hot water needs to be turned on, but other than that the home could be considered livable but not quite done.

So I am leaning towards option C and thinking of going on a fast from exercise and painting this week to further clear my schedule to clutter bust and dust and pack up. If I devote Monday Thru Friday to it, all the junk should be gone and we should be in great shape for a quick move if we do decided to get in before Christmas.

But the other part of me wonders if I would be better spending the time painting, cause perhaps we really could get done before christmas if I just give it my all for a few more weeks (and Jack too of course). Then we could just move the big essentials in before Christmas and move the little stuff after (but that could really drag out moving!!!)

What do you think??? What would you do??? Declutter and pack, so that no one sees the dust bunnies under your couch when they come to remove it, Or paint like a madwoman so you can get out of your plaster caving in house, faster!!! (the dining room ceiling hole is growning daily, we cannot eat our christmas ham in there without opening up a shade umbrella to cover the whole feast)

Either choice, is going to leave me time strapped for the Christmas preparations, I am going to keep it simple this year, only a few decorations are coming out, if I know your e-mail you will be getting a e-card this year from us.

My husband pretty much took care of the baking for us, Although I think he might have inadvertantly added more work to our load. I know he had best of intentions when he signed us up at work for a cookie exchange, BUT the exchange grew from 10 people to 23, I begged him to get us off, 23 dozen bake goods is too much to make and receive, but apparently the time line is up and we are stuck, so now I am going to have to squish and afternoon of fudge making into my schedule cause he put us down for FUDGE!!!!! I got to make 23 dozen fudge pieces!!!! Yeah I can just see my kitchen now, and me, what I make tastes great but I am far from a neat baker, I am going to have a lot of chocolate to scrub that night (hmmm Jack said he would help, sort of a sorryful offering for his blunder(he seriously had know idea we would be responsible for making that much) , perhaps I will put him in charge of chocolate scrubbing)

So if you live locally guess what your getting for Christmas from us, you got it your getting a plate full of various baked goods!!! I don't even know if I know enough people to give that all too!!!Perhaps I will throw a big cookie eating party instead of a cookie decorating one this year!! Oh wait a minute I have no home good enough to through a party in yet, one is falling apart the other is not yet put together AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Pray for me, I am going to need a big boost of energy and commitment either option I choose this week!!!

Well that is all for this week, the kids are all gone to a friends house and I got to clean up the kitchen from the brownies and then myself and get their clothes together for the praise dinner, and get the brownies on a platter, you can bet that that will include tasting a sample!!!

Have a great week!!!! May your kick of to the holiday season be more relaxing than mine.

A note to My Readers (however many that may be!!!)

Although I have been doing fairly well at writing every weekend, I am now going to go down to once every other weekend. As you will read this week Jack and I decided to use his new found every other weekend off (he quit his pager weekend job) to put in a good full day and full evenings work at the renovation house. I am not a night owl at all!!! I can manage one late night as long as the next day is easy. Since we are putting in that hard of a day at the house we are going to really take it easy on Sunday and spend some quality time with the Kiddo's that day, and also enjoy a afternoon nap leaving me little time to write. Sorry napping, comes before blogging in this family!!!

What we do with our Saturday Nights!!!
Some people kick back and relax on a Saturday night, others hit the town, still others visit friends, as for Jack and I , we paint the night away while our children sleep on air mattresses in the boys now newly floored room. We are down to just a few large projects left now, and since we have a bed already there, we decided Jack's weekend off would be a perfect time to put in a late night and put in a few more hours at the reno. . Jack sanded and then primed all 27 doors and 7 drawers, on one side, while I painted the first coat on most of the kitchen cabinets and the study cabinets . We fell into bed just after midnight and decided next time we do it we need to bring something to put on the windows of our bedroom, there are a lot of street lights on that side of town!!!

Our Halloween Night DJ

I have never met a man as crazy for Halloween as Craig White. My children, and Jack and I have loved spending Halloween with him and his family for the past 6 years now. When they were neighbors each year it was a haunted house. Last year they had just moved to a new neighborhood so he downscaled things a bit and dressed up like Darth Vader to greet the kids at the door. This year he was in full Halloween mode once again, he had strobe lights going, a smoke machine and his DJ stuff rocking his garage. It was so funny to watch the tricker treaters approach the house, they all stopped at the end of the driveway and paused a little as if questioning whether we were giving out candy or having a private party. Thank you White's for another enjoyable Halloween night!!! Hope were invited again next year, and if we aren't well we will crash it anyhow, no matter how hard you try my children see Halloween and Whites, like most people view peanut butter and jelly, you can't have one without the other, and I agree!!!

Trick or Treating With the Gang!!!

Besides the fact that it was a big football game night at the local high school, we had a blast on Halloween, we had a tonne of great food to eat at Shannon's followed by gathering of even more candy, door to door, and then our very own personal dance held in the White's garage held by the crazy for Halloween DJ Craig. We finished the night off with a trunk or treat, and did not get home till almost 10 pm!!!

A Lesson in How not to style hair and apply Makeup

Courtney wanted to be Frankenstein's bride for Halloween, so with my friend Shannon's help we made her into just that. She thought it was just fabulous, so who knows what I am into once she hits teenage hood!!!

What else do you do with your pumpkins after the big night!!!

Yes I admit, it seems a bit redneck and I am sure that is what the cars zooming by while we did this event on a school day thought too!!! I am sure it seemed strange to see three school age children and their parents out smashing pumpkins with brooms and baseball bats, oh and did I mention we also experimented by dropping them at different heights. But truly readers it was so much fun!!!! It was a great break between school sessions, and I am sure it will now be an annual event around our household.

The finished results

Below is a picture of the children and their dad carving the pumpkins, here is the final product. The one with the tongue is Courtney's, The middle is Aiden's and the end on is Thomas'. We did not place them outside since we were gone at a friend's house, so we left them inside for a few days where we could all get a bit more enjoyment out of them

It's a Daddy thing

Around here Daddy does the annual carving of the pumpkin event. It all started in the first year of our marriage where he came home one afternoon to me just about to take a knife to a pumpkin. Horrified at how I was holding the knife he quickly took it out of my hand and scolded me like a five year old (he likes doing that, he scolds, I beat a subject to death, we are paired in our bad habits). He then said those words I am sure he regrets, "from now on I will do all the carving of pumpkins in this household". But seriously he loves doing it, although the children's requests are getting harder and harder to create.