12.31.2009

2009... See Ya!!!

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? went on a family vacation, just the 5 of us (Tom's there, really, he's just behind the camera=)

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? well, last year I said there are lots of things I would like to accomplish in my life but no "resolutions", no time frame, just a determination to keep working on "things". I'm still working on "things", but I have had some successes;) And I even managed to set a running routine on the treadmill; now I just have to get back into it=)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Leslie had li'l miss Ruby.

4. Did anyone close to you die? nope.

5. What states/countries did you visit? Ohio, woo hoo! I went to Cedar Point with my sisters. Other than that, I think I couldn't escape stayed in Michigan this year.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? less stress and worry over financial matters. I've said it before but this time I think it's really true... Lord willing, the credit card and one (of the many) school loans will be paid off this year!

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Tom getting the keys to his "new" business. We checked out the facilities one Friday nite, made "decorating" plans and then went to celebrate this big new step with dinner at the Beach Bar. The kids' first day of school. A significant conversation with my dad.

8. What was your biggest achievement? Making it thru 2009. (And actually enjoying most of it.)

9. What was your biggest failure? My relationship with Tom. But sometimes you need to fail to realize that you really do want to succeed. And admitting the fact that I failed could actually be my biggest success, right?

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Austin's asthma was almost totally under control, just a few minor flare~ups. I'm still waiting for results from a cervical biopsy.

11. What was the best thing you bought? My children's education. Every time I walk into their school I am so reaffirmed in our choice to send them there. I love everything about it and it's totally worth the financial sacrifices, crazy work hours, and hectic coaching schedules to make it work.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Tom's for stepping up and accepting a wonderful business opportunity. Austin's for learning to ride his bike without training wheels (even after a mailbox jumped out and tackled him to the ground, he got back up to ride again). Audrey's for being independent and walking into preschool like she owned the place; and Lexi's for mastering writing the letters "H" and "A"! And let's not forget Bubba and Lindsey for gradgitating and landing "grown~up" jobs=)

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Everyone makes mistakes, right?

14. Where did most of your money go? (This probably won't change for a long time) the house and the kids .

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? my kids' accomplishments, Tom's successes, my days off from work, the times Tom would take the kids out of town and give me "mommy~free" weekends. (even when the kids look completely "motherless" in the vacation pictures;) Don't look too close, but when Lexi dressed herself, she got her legs mixed up in her panties and wore her leg thru the waistband, Tom knew and didn't change it for her. C'mon, Daddy, help a girl out!



16. What song will always remind you of 2009? Darius Rucker "It Won't Be Like This For Long" reminds me to enjoy every bit of my time with the kids.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
 a) happier or sadder? I'm pretty happy and content b) thinner or fatter? Let's not ask that question right after Christmas... let's say the same, give or take a few pounds=) c) richer or poorer? richer in the long run but only because we've paid off some debt. But financially, things are pretty tight right now. I don't know how many times God will have to teach me to completely trust in Him for our provisions, but He has never failed us once; He is always faithful!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Getting up early to enjoy the quiet of the morning and being ready to start my day before the kids are up.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Worrying. Obsessing about all of the "what~ifs" in life.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With our families. Hosmer family Christmas Eve morning. Hrebec family Christmas Eve. Just our family Christmas morning. With my mom later in the afternoon and with my Grandma Collins in the hospital that evening. Then Christmas nite with Tom's family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009? Every day more deeply with my kids.

22. What was your favorite TV program? Little People, Big World: John and Kate plus 8 (before John went psycho); Bill and Gulianna; Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? nope, hate makes your heart heavy and your life miserable.

24. What was the best book you read? Twilight saga. (I normally don't get into this "type" of book, but I *loved* these.) Thanks to my track girls for getting my hooked with the movie and my SIL Rona for lending me all the books.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Lexi singing. She will often just bust out in song and I love to hear her sing "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me.

26. What did you want and get? my new tattoo... finally! And Tom got his, too, so it turned into a "date nite" ;) Reconciliation, it's a wonderful, peaceful thing to experience. Oh, and a new Canon=)

for my kids: Austin: blue, Audrey: pink, and Lexi: purple (biggest to littlest)

the kids' birthdays

27. What did you want and not get? The opportunity to stay at home FULL time with my kids.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? New Moon. I can't wait to buy it on DVD! I also really liked The Proposal and Marley & Me.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 29. I had a track meet in Colon. It was freezing cold and I was absolutely miserable. It was a very generic day. Not a whole lotta special, but I guess that's what happens when you become "grown~up".

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? a less chaotic lifestyle. Is there really such a thing as a "typical/normal" life?

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Clearance racks at Kohls and Target and one rockin' pair of semi~stilettos=)

32. What kept you sane? Blogging~ it can be so therapeutic. Play dates, and girls' nites out.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? eh, no one really.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? I don't "do" politics.
35. Who did you miss? No one- everyone is close by
36. Who was the best new person you met? I don't think I met anyone new.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009. God is always in control, even if His plans don't match up to my type A/ control freak plans.=)

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. "My best friend gave me the best advice, he said each day's a gift and not a given right... that first step you take is the longest stride... if today was your last day, tomorrow was too late... would you live each moment like your last... if today was your last day..." Nickleback

12.28.2009

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

Well, better late than never, right? And considering that the kids have been gone all weekend, if I don't blog now in all of my free time, then there's really no excuse. (And for the record, it was Audrey that put the star up this year, so it will be Lexi's turn next year {because there's always a debate;})










12.25.2009

Christmas Morning


"I saw presents with my name on them! (big sigh of relief) I was on the nice list!" ~ Audrey

12.17.2009

The 12 Days of Christmas... Austin's Version



I was going thru Austin's reading journal for the month of December and came across this. He has learned how to read and write phonetically and now that he's learning words that don't spell like they sound he has been struggling. It's been a work in progress so when I found this I was so proud of how far he's progressed. It seems as if he has some pretty big expectations and now Santa is frantically scrambling to fill some of the order. (I'll tell you RIGHT now there is no way, Never EVER he's gonna get #1;) Unless, of course, baby Jesus wasn't the only Christmas miracle.




On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me twelve vikings Jrseys


On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me eleven Ds i


... 10 gluv's (gloves... smart kid~ he'd have 5 sets;)


9 Christmas presint's


8 hot weels


7 gold medl (gold medals)


6 feet of snowe


5 buy cusin's (boy cousins... on the Collins side of the family it's girls, girls, girls!)


4 ice creem cons


3 cor's (cars)


2 mor webciz (2 more webkinz)


and babee brother!




My spell check is going nuts! Love this kid!=)

12.15.2009

'Tis The Season...

... to be stressed! I love, love, LOVE the Christmas season, so despite the busyness, I really still try to enjoy constant, never ending list of things to do. But this week I think I've taken on a little more than what's humanly possible:

  • Christmas cards in the mail
  • phone calls to Snapfish and Current to check on order statuses... because they're just not coming!
  • coffee dates with Rona and Cheri (mmm, love me some coffee and girl time!=)
  • a Christmas cookie exchange for the elementary teachers. As room mom, it was my job to recruit 9 or 10 moms to each bake a dozen cookies on behalf of the preschool class. I sent out a note last week and got 1 response. Somehow it is easier for me to bake to rest of the cookies myself than to take the time to call 16 moms and beg/plead ask for cookies.
  • not only baking, but packing said cookies with all of the other room moms Wednesday afternoon
  • last 2 jr. high b~ball games of the season
  • all of the end~of~season responsibilities: paperwork, collecting/returning uniforms, etc., etc.
  • cheerleaders' pizza party/ gift exchange at my home Wednesday before the game
  • Audrey's Christmas party Thursday am
  • the kids' Christmas open house at the school Thursday pm
  • Austin's Christmas party Friday am
  • a playdate with Austin's bestest school friend all Friday afternoon
  • Micah and Lindsey's graduations from WMU on Saturday morning
  • I asked for Saturday am off to go to the graduation ceremonies and somehow ended up with the whole day off! So while the kids are with grandma H. Tom and I will hopefully get the chance to finish up our Christmas shopping.

10 days to go! Santa is smart... he has elves! (Where can I get me one of those?)

12.10.2009

Today's Big Questions

I'm being inquisitive today. Lots of questions. Maybe not so many answers. Here's what's going thru my mind:
  • why do I keep finding pieces of stale, crusty eggo waffles in Austin's room when we haven't had eggos in months?
  • where are they coming from?
  • can I really send my daughter to school in too~small/short snow pants and fashion boots when there's 2 inches of snow on the ground?
  • does this warrant an explanatory note to the teacher?... Dear Mrs. W, Please don't judge my mothering skills. It's really not for lack of fashion and/or common sense but simply that my daughter chose to have a meltdown as I was trying to get her around to take her to Target. Instead of going shopping for new winter attire, she ended up in her room for an extended time out and I ended up on the couch with some Bailey's in my coffee for a little peace and quiet. (I nixed the idea of letter writing in favor of spending the time digging thru my Christmas stash to find the snow boots I had picked up for her in May at the clearance price of $9.)
  • Why do I live in Michigan when I am cold intolerant?
  • Why can't Santa be for grown~ups? I'm pretty sure I've been good this year, unless you're asking that question to my daughter from her place in time out, and I have a pretty good wish list.
  • why do kids always pick out the marshmallows from Lucky Charms?
  • why does my dog like cheese so much?
  • where does the morning go? Time to go pick up Audrey!

12.09.2009

Today I'm Lovin'...

  • sisters that play well together
  • peppermint chai latte
  • Williams~Sonoma "My Favorite Things" cd from their dinner companion series
  • a sparkly Christmas tree
  • fun surprises in the mail
  • an equally poor brother who has mutually agreed to fore~go exchanging Christmas presents this year;)
  • God's protection for my family
  • a dog who has figured out how to crack open nuts with his teeth, eating the meat, and leaving the shells behind
  • free babysitting (kids' Christmas program practice) for a quick coffee date tonite

12.02.2009

Christmas Details~ Now You're In The Know

I copied this from Kristin's blog:


Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I bought really nice wrapping paper from Stampin' Up a couple of years ago, even got color coordinated grosgrain ribbon to tie around the gifts (not for the kids' presents but for the "adult" gifts so they'd look pretty under the tree). Aside from that, I have never had to buy a roll of wrapping paper. My mom hits the day~after sales and stocks up for me.




Real tree or artificial? Real. Of course. The freezing cold hunt. The young children sawing a massive tree with a very sharp saw. Shelling out $40 for a tree that will end up in my FIL's burn pile in 3 weeks. The wrestling it into place. Crawling under the extremely prickly branches for the constant watering. And the smell. The smell of fresh pine. The smell of Christmas. Gotta have it.




When do you put up the tree? 4 Christmases ago, our tree was up, but undecorated until the wee hours of Christmas morning when I tiredly threw on a couple of ornaments and called it good. 3 Christmases ago, we pulled into the tree farm on December 23rd at 4:55pm (farm closes at 5pm) to get our tree. And this year we haven't gotten the tree yet, but we still have 23 days, right?




Do you like eggnog? I will have a couple of sips, but it's way too rich and creamy for me. Austin saw the penguins chug eggnog on Party with the Penguins (Madagascar's Christmas DVD) and he has been asking for eggnog ever since.




Favorite gift received as a child? The Christmas I was 8, Santa was good... very good! A cassette Walkman, a sled, a cool pink blanket. But even as I got older, I always got the "big" present I asked for~ a stereo w/ CD player, a black leather jacket...




Hardest person to buy for? My Grandpa and Grandma Hrebec. It's usually Christmas Eve, a few hours before the family get together and I'm still trying to find the "perfect" gift. Any suggestions?




Easiest person to buy for? Myself. I "help" Tom out by doing my shopping for me;)




Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, but not as many as my mom. One year, as I was using her small washroom off the kitchen I happened to count 3 or 4 nativities crammed into the tiny space. She has them EVERYWHERE so it became somewhat of a joke.




Mail or email Christmas cards? E~mail Christmas cards!?! That just seems really tacky.






Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I think it might have been an X large pink tee shirt with a ginormous pig face with the words "Piggly Wiggly". Apparently it's a Southern thing. But I'm not Southern. (And I hope I'm not X large.)




Favorite Christmas movie? Elf. Love. LOVE that movie!




When do you start shopping? I do a little thru the year. If I come across a great deal, I'll pick it up and stash it. I was in line at 3:30 this last Friday morning outside Kohl's for some Black Friday deals and I'll watch the ads to pick up the remainder of the gifts on the list thru Christmas Eve (unless inspiration for the Grandparents Hrebec gift hits early).




Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? You'll never know. I do try not to re~gift an item back to it's original giver;) Now that would be embarrassing!




Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Mmmm! It's all good!




Lights on the tree? White lights




Favorite Christmas songs? I love Christmas music. There's not a whole lot of Christmas tunes I don't like.




Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home Christmas morning but travel around Jackson to all the family gatherings.




Can you name all of Santa's Reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen (Austin's current fave), Comet, Cupid (Audrey's top pick), Donder, Blitzen, and Rudolph.




Angel on the tree top, or a star? Star.




Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? The elves' bring jammies Christmas eve nite but everything else gets opened on Christmas morning.




Favorite ornament theme or color? Our tree is decorated in bright jewel tone colors. Purple, blue, lime green, and magenta. My absolute favorite ornament is one I received from Nicole a couple of years ago thru an ornament exchange. Love it!!!!





What do you want for Christmas this year? If I could really dream, I would love to remodel our upstairs bathroom, or a new stainless frig, or a table and chair set for the dining room.