Our Week - The One with a Class Christmas Party, Fantasy in Lights, Game Night with Friends, and Christmas!

We managed to squeeze in a ton of Christmasy goodness the week leading up to Christmas, and it was just the most festive week of the whole year! 

Monday, December 19

Monday morning, the kids had school, so I dropped them off and then headed to Publix to get some grocery shopping done.  The rest of the day was spent working on blog stuff, prepping for Olivia’s class Christmas party, doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts – aaaallll the things.

I did stop midday to go have lunch with Brian and Olivia at our favorite local Mexican restaurant, though.  All of the kids in third grade passed all of their multiplication facts tests to become Multiplication Masters, so they had a field trip to eat lunch.  ;o)  B and I both ate with Olivia and the entire third grade plus all of the parents, and I brought cupcakes for all of them to celebrate. 

 

After school, Jacob and I dropped Olivia at dance, and we’d just walked in the door at home, when Jacob’s music teacher contacted me to make sure we were still coming to piano lessons. 

FOREHEAD SMACK.   

Y’all.  I thought they were already closed for the break, but they were not.  Haha.  His music teacher had even given me a slip of paper with the dates that they were going to be closed, and I totally just dropped the ball.  Thankfully, they’d had a lot of no-shows at the school on Monday, so all of the teachers started contacting parents to send reminders… if they hadn’t done that, we would have totally missed Jacob’s lesson altogether.

Thankfully, we live like five minutes from the music studio, so we literally walked in our door at home, put down Jacob’s backpack, and then we turned right back around and walked out the door to go to piano lessons.  Haha.  We somehow even managed to get there right on time.  Whew.

After piano, Jacob and I headed back home, and then I got started on dinner while B headed back out to pick up Olivia from dance.

I got in a stair stepper workout after dinner, and then B and I put together all of the craft bags for the kids for Olivia’s class Christmas party the next day while we watched the new Lego Masters holiday special.  After that, it was another episode of White Lotus for B and me and then bed.

Tuesday, December 20

Tuesday morning, I got the kids off to school and hit the ground running – Starbucks for some fuel, UPS to drop some Amazon returns, back to the school to set up for the teacher’s Christmas luncheon, and then straight to Olivia’s class to set up for her class Christmas party. 

The room mom for the other third grade class and I had arranged for them to have a full breakfast with all the works – Chick-Fil-A chicken minis, donuts, muffins, mini quiches, yogurt, fruit, and lots of other brunchy goodies, and then a full hot chocolate bar with marshmallows, sprinkles, candy canes – the works.

After their brunch/hot chocolate feast, we did the craft that I’d put together, and then their teacher put on a Christmas movie while we cleaned up.

I was done there around 11, so I hung out at the school until the kids dismissed at noon, and then we all headed home to eat lunch and hang for the rest of the day.  The weather all last week (and this week for that matter) was dreary and wet and SOOOO COOOOLD, so there was very little outdoor time. 

Olivia had dance at 5, so Jacob and I drove her there, dropped her off, and then we swung by Publix on the way home to grab a few things.  I got started on dinner after that, and B grabbed Olivia on his way home from work. 

We all had dinner, I did an arms and squats workout, we finished the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting show that we’d started weeks earlier, and then we watched some more of the Lego Masters holiday special.  

B and I finished season two of White Lotus, and then we headed to bed, too.  Why is that show so good, y’all?!  OMG.

Wednesday, December 21

Wednesday was the kids’ first day of Christmas break.  B had to work, so he was up and out of the house early, but the kids and I slept in a little.  I made breakfast, they watched some cartoons, and then we made gingerbread houses for the rest of the morning.

The kids are so old now that they barely need my help with them anymore, so I just sat and watched instead. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent getting ready, having lunch, playing video games, and doing some blog work, and then when B got home, we made the drive to Fantasy in Lights for our annual tradition.

The kids hadn’t yet seen Santa this year, so they were able to visit with him – and actually sit on his lap for the first time since 2019!!  Then we walked around and looked at all of the decorations before jumping on the trolley to ride through the main attraction.  They had added yet another new section to the trolley ride, and it was really beautiful!

Since we were in the area, we also stopped by a subdivision nearby to watch their amazing light show that they have every year.  Right as we were pulling up, they were showing a University of Georgia themed show, and it was SO GOOD.  Haha.  We ended up hanging around for another 30-45 minutes watching a bunch more of the songs.  It’s so entertaining, I swear, we could’ve stayed there all night.  Haha.

By the time we got home it was laaaate, and we hadn’t even had dinner, so we whipped up some eggs, grits, bacon, and toast really quickly, and had a very late dinner before getting the kiddos into bed.

B and I started the new season of Handmaid’s Tale after they were in bed, and then we went to bed, too.

 

Thursday, December 22

Thursday morning, the kids and I slept in again, and B headed off to work, and then we had a leisurely morning at home.  The kids requested Christmas-themed coloring pages, and then I got in a cardio workout.  I did some laundry and then got ready for the day, and then I made lunch when B came home.  He only worked a half day Thursday, and he has been off of work since then.

Thursday afternoon, we decided to have some friends over for a game night, so I headed to Walmart at 4 PM to grab some things for the get together, and my goodness, what was I thinking?!  Haha.  That place was a MAD HOUSE.  What I thought would be a 20-minute trip ended up being over an hour because there were so many people there.  I also had some random guy ask me a million questions about wine because he was trying to pick out a good bottle for a gift for his lady friend.  Haha.  I ended up talking to him for probably 10-15 minutes before getting back to my shopping.  Hopefully his girlfriend enjoyed the bottle we selected.  Haha.

By the time I got home, my friend, Jeannine, and her boys were already there at our house, and my friend, Khristina and her husband and son all showed up right behind me.  I couldn’t crack open a beer fast enough after my trip to Walmart.  Haha. 

We heated up a few frozen pizzas and chatted while the kiddos played, and then after we ate, we all gathered around the table for a few rounds of Exploding Kittens, Uno, and Luck of the Draw (which is soooo fun and great for a crowd!). 

We had the best evening together and before we knew it, it was after 9, and time to wrap things up.  We vowed to start doing game nights on the regular, though, because it was such a fun time.

After they left, we got the kids into bed, and then B and I watched Christmas Vacation before calling it a (late) night ourselves.

 

Friday, December 23

A huge winter storm blew in overnight Thursday into Saturday, and the wind was insane, so it kept me up a lot of the night.  Our power ended up getting knocked out for a few hours, but it finally came back on sometime in the wee hours of the morning. 

Needless to say, I was dragging after drinking Thursday night and then not sleeping at all, so Friday was lazy.  We slept in, and then B picked up donuts for all of us for breakfast.  After breakfast, we played another few rounds of Luck of the Draw.  Our kiddos loved the game so much, that they decided to make their own version of it that we could play since the game we played Thursday night didn’t belong to us.

They made the playing cards, the adjective cards, the color chips, and the little color spinning wheels and everything.  They’re just so creative, y’all!

After that was done, we all sat down and watched an episode of Nailed It Holiday, and then I did some laundry and got in a stair stepper workout.  We made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, and then I got showered and ready for the day.

The high maxed out at 27 degrees on Friday with wind chills in the teens, so none of us ever left the house.  It was waaaay too cold.   

I spent some time in my office working on blog stuff while the kiddos played video games, and then after all of that was done, B picked up Five Guys for dinner.

After dinner, we decided to introduce the kids to the movie Serendipity since they’d just eaten at the restaurant in New York City, and they both LOVED it.  There is one part that we fast forwarded through since it’s a bit much for their young ages, but other than some mild language here and there, we thought it was fine for them to watch.

Olivia loves romance, so she was head over heels for the movie, and Jacob enjoyed it just as much as she did… maybe even more!  I was so thrilled that they both loved it because it has been one of my favorite movies for 20 years, and I’ve probably seen it nearly a hundred times.  My work here is done.  Haha.

After the kiddos were in bed, B and I settled in for our annual viewing of Love Actually.  We saw it in the theater when it came out in 2003, and we’ve watched it every single Christmas since then, so I suppose this was probably our 20th annual viewing.  Wow.  It’s my all-time favorite movie.  I love it SO much.

 

Saturday, December 24

Saturday morning was Christmas Eve, and we woke up to a temperature of 12 degrees and a wind chill of 2.  TWO, Y’ALL.  In Georgia.  Haha.

We had leftover donuts for breakfast and then we watched three episodes of the The Santa Claus show on Disney+, so it was an extra lazy morning.

After that, B baked his grandmother’s famous chocolate chip cookies, and I got in an arms workout and did some laundry, and then we had a light, quick lunch.

By the time lunch was done, it was time to get ready for church.  We always go to the children’s Mass at 4 PM on Christmas Eve, and it’s one of my favorite hours of the whole year.  We hadn’t been since 2019 because of Covid, so I was thrilled to be back in church on Christmas Eve. 

It was a packed house, and we were able to see lots of family members and friends, and it was just a joyful celebration with everyone.  We were also able to see my cousin, Wil, which was nice, because we rarely get to see him due to his work schedule.  He works for the UGA football team, and as y’all know, football never stops this time of year which means he never gets to come home for Thanksgiving, and he only gets to come home for a very brief period on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which means he always misses our family’s big celebration Christmas night.

After Mass was over, we stopped home to grab Maui and all of the stuff needed for Christmas Eve at my parents’ house, and then we headed there for the rest of the evening. 

Unfortunately, my brother and sister-in-law and their kiddos weren’t able to come home this year, so our gathering was a bit smaller than usual – my parents, our family of four, my brother, my uncle, and my father-in-law.  We had a great time, though!

My Momma made white chicken chili (our new tradition since 2020), and then we opened presents and then settled in with our dessert to watch Home Alone… a longstanding tradition that we’ve been doing for most of my life.  My Momma and Daddy gave my brother and me each a framed movie poster from my late grandfather's movie that he was in, and my Momma captured the moments of us opening them... I cried, of course.  I can't wait to hang it in our house.

We wrapped up things at their house a little after 10, and then our kiddos left cookies and milk for Santa before finally getting into bed a little before 11 PM.  Oh, and let's not forget the candy canes... they left one for each of the nine reindeer.  ;o)

B and I settled in to watch Die Hard (because it is a Christmas movie!) and once the kiddos were all nestled in their beds, Santa left their gifts.   

He and I finally turned the light out a little after 1 AM.  Whew.

 

Sunday, December 25

Christmas morning, the kids came in our room at 6:50 AM (waaaay too early in my opinion – haha), but B and I managed to get ourselves out of bed so we could get started. 

The morning was spent looking at the things that Santa brought, opening gifts from each other, and opening stockings.  Jacob has been asking for a full-sized keyboard, and he got his wish, so we are excited to follow along with him on his journey to take his piano playing to the next level.  He is obsessed, and I’m so here for it… we’re going to fuel that fire for as long as we can!

All Olivia wanted on planet earth was a live baby chihuahua and Squishmallows, and she ended up getting one of those two things.  I’ll let you guess which one it was.  Hahahaha.

Thankfully, she wasn’t disappointed that she didn’t have a baby chihuahua under the tree.  We’d already told her it was never going to happen.

For breakfast, I made French toast and bacon, and we cut up some fresh strawberries and made pineapple mimosas to go along with it.  After breakfast, I was already exhausted, so I lay down on the couch with Maui and rested for a bit.  I never quite fell asleep, but having 45 minutes of peace and quiet (well, kind of – haha) to just do nothing is always a special treat that I rarely indulge in.

The whole rest of the morning and afternoon were spent playing with new toys, tidying up a bit, and just hanging out.

We had a light lunch, and then afterward, Jacob and Olivia got showered and played video games for a bit while I spent some quiet time in my office. 

Sunday afternoon, I made my dish for Christmas with my extended family, and then we drove to my aunt and uncle’s house for Christmas dinner with the whole group.  My extended family is huge, so there were at least 30 of us there, plus nearly 20 were missing due to illness or other reasons.  It is a BIG group.  Haha.  Not everyone who was there made it in this picture either.

We spent the whole evening over there eating all the yummy food and drinking and chatting, and it was just the perfect end to a really great Christmas Day.  I’ve been so very grateful for this normal Christmas after 2020’s Christmas that was anything but normal, and 2021’s Christmas that also wasn’t quite normal.

And now for a few current things…

Currently Reading

 

In December, I started reading People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, but I didn’t quite finish it.  After reading one of Henry’s other books that I didn’t love, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with this one.  It has been entertaining so far, although, it’s not one that’s necessarily a page-turner.  Yet, at least.

 

Currently Watching

 

With B:  We finished the latest season of Manifest, we flew through season two of White Lotus, and we started the newest season of The Handmaid’s Tale.  We also watched a couple of Christmas movies like Christmas Vacation and Love Actually.

 

With the Kids:  We’re still working our way through Nailed It and The Santa Clauses, and we finished Lego Masters, and The Amazing Race.  We’ve also been watching some TV Christmas specials like the tree lighting in Rockfeller Center, Beauty and the Beast, and also some Christmas movies, like Serendipity and Home Alone.

 

Alone:  The Holiday and Serendipity on repeat.   

 

Currently Listening To

Christmas music, 90’s R&B, and the new Taylor Swift album.  I can’t quit any of those right now.

Happy Wednesday, y’all!