2011- Year In Review

 2011 sucked monkey balls.
OK, it wasn't that horrible I guess.
...yes it was.
I am forcing myself to look back on the year to find some of the good things that happened in hopes that I will forget the bad.
....wishful thinking I am sure.

January.
My second born son turned 7 years old.  I am still having a difficult time with this because it feels like just yesterday that he came into this world before the doctor was able to attend.  I also started running...err...jogging...err walking fast.

February
My oldest child turned 9.  His last year in the single digits.  I am still having a very difficult time with this because, well, I am not old enough to have a kid this age.  My daddy celebrated a birthday.  Husband found Duke the horse.  It was love at first sight.  We left for Cuba to attend my little brother's wedding.

I consider our trip to Cuba to be one of the highlights of this craptastic year.

March
We spent the first week in Cuba.  It was heaven.  I didn't want to come home.  I decided I would like to move there.  My little brother got married and he and his newlywed wife celebrated birthdays.  I was still running.  Husband found Ike the Horse.  He fell in love. 

April
Princess turned 3.  How is that possible?  Husband celebrated a birthday.  He is old.  Prince William and Princess Kate got hitched and she wore the same wedding dress as me.  Ok...almost the same.  My mommy celebrated a birthday.

May
I had a birthday and fell into a deep depression because I am old, have acne, wrinkles, cellulite and gray hair.  Whatever.  Ike and Duke came to live at our house. Princess decided that she would only wear dresses and flip flops.  Rowdy had a needle and screamed so loud, we had to be let out the back door of the doctor's office because of complete embarrassment.

June
My dearest Grandpa passed away on his 60th wedding anniversary.  Smokey and Blackie the barn cats came to  live at our house.  School ended for the year.  I fell into another deep depression because my children would be home for two straight months.

July
We celebrated Canada's birthday.  I tried my hardest to keep my children busy so they would not kill each other.  My grandma turned 80-something.

August
We said goodbye to Clyde the bunny.  Grandma and Grandpa celebrated 75 years of wedded bliss.  Grandpa turned 95.  We said goodbye to the crib and I fell into a deep depression because our lives as parents of a newborn were over forever.

September
BACK TO SCHOOL!!!!!!  Princess started taking dance lessons.  Studley wasn't doing too hot and we prepared ourselves to say another sad goodbye.

Butheisstillhereandhappyandhealthyandwelovehimsomucheventhoughhesmellsbad.

October
Messy tried out for the school volleyball team.  A HUGE accomplishment.  Ike and Duke were the stars of the community.  Studley turned 12.  Oldest child chose to go trick or treating with his friend instead of his own family.  I fell into a deep depression because my children are growing up.

November
Hubby and I celebrated 11 years of marriage on the 11th day of the 11th month in the year 2011.  I received a nasty blog comment. and fell into a deep, dark depression because there are people in the world who don't like me.  We went to Disney.

I consider this to be another highlight of this shittastic year.  The Disney trip, not the nasty blog comment.

December
I got sick. We said goodbye to Fluffy the bunny.  Princess got sick.  Rowdy got sick.  Christmas overwhelmed and stressed me out just like it does every other year..... and I fell into a deep depression because another year of my life is gone.

Happy friggin New Year. 

Our Christmas was full of.......

Excited children...

and parents.

Too much food....
An upset tummy
Some vomiting....
and diarrhea...
And even vomiting ON the diarrhea because there was no time to flush.  Too much info.
Sorry.

Our Christmas was full of happy children...and adults...and even animals. There was family time...lots of memory making.And many smiles.
        I hope your Christmas was as perfectly, perfect as ours was.
Minus the poop soup/vomit/sniffles.
Love Momma

Merry Christmas From My Family To Yours

It's Christmas.
I have not baked a thing.
I am not finished wrapping.
I still have a few more things to pick up.
And alot of groceries to do.

I am also extremely emotional.

This happens every year.

I hope you enjoy a relaxed holiday.
Plenty of desserts.
And alcoholic beverages.  May your credit card debt magically disappear.May you watch Elf at least 52 more times.And still laugh at Buddy singing in the washroom.

I hope your children appreciate
and love all of their gifts for years to come.
While also remembering the reason for the season.

I hope you smile.
Take a deep breath.
And realize just how frickin lucky we are to be alive.

Merry Christmas. Hugs and smooches to all of you.
 
Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Animal Kingdom

So, it has been over a month since we went to Disney and I have barely written about our trip.
Shame on me.
I took approximately 73821947 photographs and feel the need to share them all, and talk about how much I
love Disney.

I love Disney.
Ahelluvalot.

If Walt was still alive, I would stalk him.  I would want to have his babies so our babies could have some of his genius DNA and then they could grow up and rule the world.
I would also have free access to the Disney parks/food/characters/souvenirs......and...umm....money.
Gawd, the money that company must bring in.
And alot of it is our money because we love everything Disney.

But anyways, we went to Disney.
These are pictures taken at Animal Kingdom. 
I love it there.
But you already know that because I love Disney.
Ahelluvalot.



If I had more time, I would tell you about the awesome, amazing safari ride that totally made us feel like we were really in Africa.
I would also tell you about almost peeing my pants because the ride was so bumpy.
I am too young for Depends but was wishing I had some by the end of this ride.

Animal Kingdom is totally rad.
I am not one for animal parks because it makes me feel sorry for the animals contained within fences and cages. I feel the need to take them all home so I can send them back to their homeland where they can live happily ever after.
...but Animal Kingdom is different.  The space the animals have.  The natural habitat.  And the animals just looked happy and healthy.

Good job Disney.

Anyone know Walt's sons/grandsons?  I am sure hubby wouldn't mind if I stalked them......................Check out more Wordful Wednesday stuff here

How wrapping has changed in the last 10 years

10 years ago....
I used to love wrapping Christmas gifts.
I would spend lots of money on pretty paper, sparkly bows, handmade gift tags and even fancy schmancy tissue paper.
I would gather all of the gifts, bring them down to the family room, turn on the Christmas tunes and pour myself a yummy drink.
The candles would be lit.
The Christmas tree lights sparkling in the background.

I would be excited.
And totally in the Christmas wrapping mood.

Then I would spend hours wrapping each gift perfectly, topping them with a matching bow and neatly written gift tag.

Now......
Wrapping is not so enjoyable.
I buy the largest amount of wrapping paper for the cheapest price knowing that it will just get thrown out or burnt anyways.
I do not buy bows.
Gift tags are actually stickers from the local dollar store.
No candles are lit.
I turn on the CD player and listen to the Mini Pops because that is the only music around.
During the few hours a week that all three children are out of the house, I pull out a few gifts at a time and wrap them as fast as I can.
Then I stuff them away back into their hiding spot until Christmas.

Repeat over and over again until Christmas Eve at around 11pm when I can finally put them under the tree and relax.

Ike the Horse and Fluffy the Bunny

Ike the Horse and I are very close.
Ike will actually push Duke out of the way when I try to show him some attention, just to show him that I love him more.And I do love my Ikey Wikey. Except he is...umm...simple
A rascal.
Troublemaker.
Shit Disturber.

If there is trouble to get into, Ike will find it.
So it isn't weird at all to walk into the barn in the morning to find Ike out of his stall....
...hay everywhere....
...poop everywhere...
...wheelbarrows on their side...
...shattered cat/bunny bowls
...crushed plastic drawers...And Ike...
all four legs inside the bunny "stall".....
.... with Fluffy the 30 pound rabbit sleeping peacefully at his foot.

True story.
Next time I will take a picture to prove it. 

***OK....maybe not, because, not too long after I wrote this, Fluffy the 30 pound cat passed away peacefully, alone in her stall.

I am convinced she had a heart attack due to her fear of a 2000 pound horse.

RIP Fluffy

We are now a bunny-less household.

And I am ok with that.

Christmas Decor at Momma's House

Hi.
I am Momma and I love all things Christmas.
I especially love Christmas when there is snow on the ground and it actually feels like the Christmas season.
But right now, it is green and rainy.....and mild.

Huh?
I know.
I am in Canada and my kids didn't have a coat on today.  The boots have not been worn yet and we don't even know where our hats and mitts are.

But anyways, the house is decorated and I try to get myself in the mood by playing Christmas tunes and watching Christmas movies.  We even have Ike and Duke the horses who could be taking us out for sleigh rides with their jingle bells on.
Except we don't have a sleigh...or jingle bells...or snow!
My decorating skills are very "un-Martha Stewart-like".  I blame it on lack of money, lack of creativity and lack of motivation.  Maybe when my children are older and do not ruin every single breakable ornament, I might get more into it, but for now.....well.....I like simplicity.
We have a few trees. This one is fake, sits in our dining room in front of our large front window. It is full of ornaments given to me while growing up, family ornaments that I buy every year and the kids ornaments that I buy for them every year so they can take them with them when they have their own tree. Basically, it is full of stuff I love.  
It also houses the kids Santa pictures that get taken every year.
I plan on forcing them to sit with Santa until
they are 27!  That isn't weird is it????


Tree #2 is small, fake and greets visitors at our entry. It is full of ornaments my children have made over the years.
It makes my heart happy. I plan on forcing them to make homemade ornaments until they are 32.     Totally not weird, right? 
Tree #3 is large, real and I love it so much I could marry it. It is full of "natural crap" that fits our decor perfectly. Pine cones, birdhouses, bark wreaths, birds {fake, of course}, feathers, twigs, wood stars, wood
ball things with a few sparkly, shiny things added in.
You get the idea.
 
Like I said....I like simplicity and if I can find stuff in my yard to put on my tree, I am a happy girl.

Most of the decor throughout the house is something thrown together quickly that can be interchanged over the years.  I like things that are all matchy matchy so I can change it up if I choose without spending a fortune.
I also like using stuff already used in the house to fill with Christmas stuff.
Because I am cheap.
And suck at creativity.I throw some garland on the railings with some pretty flowers and shiny balls.
Because I like balls. *cough*
Sometimes, if I feel like it, I will add in some pine cones and other craft "picks", but this year it is the bare minimum.
I still haven't bought battery operated lights to add to it like I planned in 2008, but I will get to it one year
before I die. 
Maybe.
 
 Pine cones are my friend.
Scented pine cones are my best friend.
 
I ran out of pine cones while filling this thing and am very sad about it.
Our mantel is verrrrrrrrrrrrry plain and simple, but one of my most favourite decorating "areas" in the house. There is nothing like a roaring fireplace underneath a sparkling mantel while watching Christmas Vacation.
Something that was not happening here...but it still looks cozy right???

More "natural" {and very simple} decorating scattered throughout the house.

There you have it.
My house during the Christmas season.
Not much clutter.
Not much sparkle.
Not much originality.
{Is that a word?}

But I am happy with it.
For now.

I am linking up with Kelly for her Christmas Tour of Homes

annnnnnnd

The Nester who I want to be in my next life.

Check them out for some awesome, amazing, fantabulous, wonderific decorating ideas. 
And then come to my house and make it look pretty.
Thanks.