We had such a GREAT Christmas! I waited and waited to post because we have not had Christmas with B's side of the family yet, but I figured that writing about both in one post could get a bit lengthy. The week before Christmas completely flew by! I cannot believe how fast it went...well, in all seriousness how fast the entire break went! One more official day...booooooo.
Last Monday, the 4th grade team of teachers had to be up at school and then B. Bear took off Tuesday to use the last of his vacation for 2011. I used that day to catch up and finalize on all of our shopping as I hate to admit this, but I had not gotten one. single. thing. Ahhhh!!! It was tremendous though, because I found some amazing deals and was able to absolutely LOAD up on stuff for B's stocking (we do stocking for each other instead of wrapping gifts).
Brad Thomas seriously racked up...
10 ties (great sale at Macy's on ties),
2 Ralph Lauren button down dress shirts,
1 Nike/UK polo for gamedays at work, 10 pairs of boxers,
Clinque Skincare for Men (face wash and aftershave),
men's body wash from Bath & Body Works (smells AMAZING),
1 microwaveable plate for cooking bacon in microwave as B loves to do,
a "Butterboy" corn butterer thingy,
corn dishes for putting corn on the cob in and keeping it in its butter pool - rather than on your plate,
a Tervis tumbler with matching lid that said "Best Dad Ever",
3 long sleeve Ralph Lauren Polo t-shirts,
a package of white t-shirt undershirts, socks,
a digital coin counter for all of his loose change at the end of the day,
1 pair of Under Armour sweatpants,
1 pair of Adidas sweatpants,
1 pair of Under Armour shorts,
1 North Face pullover,
house shoes, and
PJ pants from American Eagle.
2 Ralph Lauren button down dress shirts,
1 Nike/UK polo for gamedays at work, 10 pairs of boxers,
Clinque Skincare for Men (face wash and aftershave),
men's body wash from Bath & Body Works (smells AMAZING),
1 microwaveable plate for cooking bacon in microwave as B loves to do,
a "Butterboy" corn butterer thingy,
corn dishes for putting corn on the cob in and keeping it in its butter pool - rather than on your plate,
a Tervis tumbler with matching lid that said "Best Dad Ever",
3 long sleeve Ralph Lauren Polo t-shirts,
a package of white t-shirt undershirts, socks,
a digital coin counter for all of his loose change at the end of the day,
1 pair of Under Armour sweatpants,
1 pair of Adidas sweatpants,
1 pair of Under Armour shorts,
1 North Face pullover,
house shoes, and
PJ pants from American Eagle.
See what I mean? R.A.C.K.E.D. UP! I was so excited though because B hasn't gotten too many new clothes over the past couple of years, yet works to make sure I get everything I want. I figured it's time for HIM to get spoiled and I loved every single minute of it!
We followed many traditions of the Banker Christmas this year:
we had Italian on Christmas Eve after going to church together,
we played games every spare minute we had,
we spent the night at my parents' to wake up and see our Santa stuff and open presents,
we had a HUGE breakfast, homemade by Suz (my mom),
and had Christmas dinner with my parents on Christmas day at their house.
It was fantastic spending some quality time with my family! B also spoiled my with almost everything I put on my list! I had a tough time putting together a list for him when he asked because there isn't too much I need or want...I have everything I need and want growing inside my belly! Jack even got some stuff too! My most favorite things he got was the "rocking lamb" (not horse) from my parents...it's oh so, so, soooooo very cute, AND the cow butt outfit he got from his Aunt Prissy...it is seriously precious!
Also, my parents got us an INCREDIBLE gift: a custom made, special order glider for Jackrabbit's room. They completely splurged and we are so grateful...Jack really is getting the best of the best and we are just so excited! We cannot believe they got us (and Jack) that!
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| our last Christmas as a family of only 2! Can't wait for new traditions and excitement Christmas 2012! |
We also had some variations on traditions this year too:
I woke up to some serious, serious kicks from Baby Jack..it was amazing! It honestly was like he knew it was Christmas and was so. so. sooooooo... excited! He was absolutely kicking up a storm in there, it made me so giggly!
we had dinner on Christmas Eve Eve at my Aunt Kathy's house with my mom's side of the family (she has 3 sisters, but 1 was in SC with her kids and grandkids).
I made the Christmas Eve dinner which was homemade lasagna. That happened by accident as I made it for B last Thursday and we had so much leftover that I told mom we could have it instead of her whipping up an entire other batch!
B did not have to work Christmas Eve or Christmas day and the branch was closed on Monday though...weird!
Shawn spent the night at his dad's instead of with us on Christmas Eve and Dad went and picked him up at 7a.m. Christmas day and then took him back after dinner. It was really strange not having him there through all the festivities.
When we were up at 7:30 with Shawn to see his Santa gifts, we had my brother on Skype sitting in the living room so he could be a part of our traditions. He lives in China and this is his first Christmas in a foreign country. It was nice having him "there" with us for our usual Christmas morning, but was definitely a creative twist on traditions in the Banker household. B and I left not too long after an ahhh hemmm...interesting? Christmas dinner. Not the food per say, but the events...and I'll leave it at that. I really had a terrific time with mi madre, mi padre, B, and Priss!!
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| some of Jack's stuff - disregard B back there playing with his new digital coin counter |
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| Jack's stocking my mom got for him and the lamb rocker |
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| excuse my extreme foulness |
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| NEW TRADITION ALERT: this is my dad Skyping with my big bub |
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| the truck B and I got Shawnee |
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| Shawnee going through his Santa gifts |
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| He got a Nintendo 3DS from Santa and well, we barely got to visit with him the rest of the day, he was so enamored with it! |
Since B had Monday off, we deemed that day, "Project Day". I hate to admit this, but we barely have ANYTHING prepared in our house for the arrival of our sweet little man and now, I am feeling the crunch on time! We have less than 4 months remaining and there is just so much to do! We first started with our pantry in the kitchen. I know it sounds weird, but it needed some serious organization...especially since we need to make room for Baby's Jack's foodie goodies! We have wire racks in our pantry and in our bathroom closets and well, those are simply NOT IDEAL for storage! Thus, we purchased shelf liners and got to work rearranging. Here is the end result! It's amazing how much food went to waste because it expired or got "lost" in there!
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| look at all that space we have for Jackbaby's food! |
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| B says we now look like poor college kids with no food! This thing was STUFFED full before we ditched all the stuff we haven't used! |
Next, it was onto the bathroom closets. Instead of putting shelf liners in my bathroom closet, we bought baskets and I organized everything. I am one of those idiots who has like every. single. scent. from Bath&Body Works and Victoria's Secret...AND cannot decide on just ONE perfume...I have like 8 perfumes to match my moods or look. Yes, I am a freak. Thus, I organized all of that stuff, while cleaning out mostly empty bottles that I was clinging to the remnants of too.
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| scents and hair necessities in bottom basket, lotions and bath goodies in middle basket, and medicines and first aid supplies, in the top basket. The green bag is my makeup travel case when I go somewhere...it has all these pockets to make my supplies compartmentalized and organized which I love because good makeup is my biggest indulgence and a non-negotiable! When we're not traveling, I had it organized into drawers in our bathroom. |
Next, B uses the closet in the office as his closet because yes, I have taken up every square inch of the massive walk-in in our master bath. The office is becoming Jack's nursery, so B has to move his clothes out of there. That seems easy except for there is no space in our master closet because I am a clothes-aholic, AND I use our guest bedroom closet for my Winter and Fall clothes. Again, I am a freak. Thus, I had to go through THAT closet and weed out clothes I do not wear or do not see myself wearing and ended up with a GIANT bag for Cathryn and a GIANT bag for Goodwill. B is now safe and secure in the guest bedroom closet! Let me tell you what, this was NO. EASY. TASK. to get all of this rearranging done! He and I were both EXHAUSTED at the end of the day, but more organized to say the least...so we are one step closer to being prepared for our little guy!
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| I need more baby-size hangars, but this is all we have in Jack's closet now..it used to be FILLED with all of his Daddy's clothes and such |
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| B's clothes added to my fall and winter clothes collection in the guest bedroom. It extends MUCH farther to the left and to the right. |
Finally, I have spent the last couple of days cleaning our house from floor to ceiling since we have the Thomases and the Morels coming in this weekend, and running some errands. I may or may not have also hit up the semi-annual sale at B&B Works to load up on wallflowers for my house. And yes, I made out like a bandit from there...I got 24 (you read correctly, TWENTY-FOUR) Wallflowers, and some lotions and such for $40!!! Crazy huh?!? In all fairness, I did had two $10 off coupons though...so it really was a $60 total, but I ended up only spending $40. I am pumped and my house smells delicious! Next up, Victoria's Secret semi-annual...I look forward to it every year, twice a year...ya feel me, ladies?!?
We did have some excitement on Tuesday, however. My parents called Tuesday morning, asking if I'd like to go see a movie with them. Of course, I happily obliged because it was a great distraction from house cleaning...I am a tremendous procrastinator, mind you...and well, it was additional time to spend with my fabulous parentals. We went to see, "The Descendants" and it was good. Good, not great, though. I do not feel that it lived up to all the hype, but I did still think it was good. We also went to see it at the Kentucky theater downtown and I had never been there, so that was an experience too. Afterwards, we went by the store to look at my fabric swatch for the glider and match it up to paint samples that B and I have collected for Jack's room. On our way home from there, we were stopped at a light and out of nowhere, a HUGE thud. Someone rear-ended us. I happened to be sitting in the back and the impact caused by head to whip forward and then back rather forcefully. Immediately, I was freaked out and started crying. A LOT. Thankfully, I was with my parents, and my mom jumped out of the car and into the backseat to comfort me without even a flinch. Also, no one was hurt, nor was my parents' car which is amazing in itself. The truck that hit them had damage, but not their car...outstanding! After I calmed down, I simply had a headache, but that is a small price to pay for our safety! Thank goodness for guardian angels with us and wrapping their arms around my stomach and Sweet Baby Jack! I was in an accident last February and the injuries were farrrrrrr worse than this.
I hope you had a terrific Christmas and time off from work. Tomorrow, B's side of the family comes in for our annual week after Christmas Christmas and New Year's celebration. It is always a great time!
xoxo,
Abs
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