Traditions

(foreword: I was going to post more pictures, but Blogger is being a jerk, so they will come later)

Happy Christmas Eve to all! It has been a busy day here. And yet, relaxing at the same time. For the last couple of years, we have managed to stay home on Christmas Eve. Which I really enjoy. Caitlyn gets to really experience what the night before Christmas is all about.

Since I was a child, my mom has let us open one present on Christmas Eve. The really good gifts were never under the tree by then, so there was no fear of us getting the good stuff the day before we were supposed to. I have carried this tradition over with Caitlyn. She was in my room around 10:00 this morning urging me out of bed so she could open her present. When she finally decided on which one, she wasn't all that thrilled with it.



Connect 4 was not on her list, and I thought she would enjoy it. After we played a few games, she packed all the pieces back up and put it away. Where it has been since this morning LOL!!! It's all good, she will have the gifts she loves tomorrow.

We then went to the grocery store. Which I have decided will never again be put off until the day before Christmas. Because, good LORD that place was a freaking disaster. But I did find this really cool gingerbread decorating kit. The cookies are made and all you have to do is load them up with the gooey gel and candy decor. Right up my alley. Mom and Dad even got in on the fun of decorating them!



I was also thinking that I want to bake cookies with the girl every year on Christmas Eve. But not from scratch. I am perfectly content buying premade dough and then using some cookie cutters. Regardless of where the cookie comes from, it's the actual process of shaping the cookies and spending time with me that is important to Caitlyn. So who cares if I make the batter from scratch or not right? Caitlyn loved, LOVED, doing this. And the cookies are quite tasty too ;)

Because we don't have a fireplace, Caitlyn early on began asking how Santa gets into her house. Right around this time, my friend Shelley sent us a Santa Key. It was perfect timing. The key is now hung on the outside of our door every Christmas Eve. Once Santa uses it to get in, he hangs it on the inside of the door.

The last of the traditions that took place tonight was right before bed. Since Caitlyn's first Christmas, I have bought her new pajamas to sleep in. Her first were from Gymboree and had the cutest little penguins all over them. Of course, they were preemie sized. She has had some really cute ones in the years past. I think my favorites were a green, red, and white striped pair that came with a stocking sleeping cap. She was able to pick hers out for the first time this year. And she didn't pick a pair that have a Christmas theme. Instead, they are just a winter theme. And they are no longer preemie sized, but rather a 7/8. Amazing I tell you. I just can't believe how big she has gotten!

She is now tucked in her bed, after checking one last time where Santa currently is on the Norad Santa Tracker. He should be here in a couple of hours according to them. So she knows she has to fall asleep quickly.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!! I know we will.

Christmas Concert and other things

The girl had her Christmas concert at school. It was splendid. All of the second graders were on the stage at once, so there were about 95 kids up there. They sang 4 songs, of which I really can't remember the names. Caitlyn had a sore throat that week, so she kept making faces at me and motioning that she needed a cough drop. As if I could do anything about that at that very moment.


She also got her progress report, which basically is a midterm report letting parents know where the kids are at and where they will be when report cards come out. Caitlyn is overjoyed, as are we, with her grades. She has all A's right now. That is what her goal for the year is. I can see that sometimes she gets too focused on her grades and is quite the determined child when it comes to getting an A on anything. I often have to remind her that B's are fine too. And C's are okay provided she put forth her best effort. She does know though that a D or an F really isn't acceptable around these parts. But where she gets this drive from to succeed in school like this, I'll never know.

More to come after Christmas :)
I am pretty much done with all of the Christmas stuff. Not only is just about everything bought and wrapped, I have also wrapped the Santa gifts for Caitlyn. Truly, this is a huge feat for me. Santa's gifts always come in wrapping paper that is different from any we have in the house. I buy it special and it is based on what Caitlyn is "in to" that particular year. In there past, there has been Barbie, Princesses, Tinkerbell, etc. This year, it is High School Musical. Go figure. Once all Santa's gifts are wrapped, the paper is put away under the stairs, never to resurface. Well, at least not until she knows Santa does not bring her gifts. Which should be within the next year or so. Mainly because the kids at school are really starting to talk. Which is fine with me. We got a good 7 years, hopefully at least one more, of the sheer excitement and joy of Santa, and I am content with that.

We have been having crazy weather here in Chicago. Loads of snow and freezing cold weather. The snow and ice resulted in snow day for me on Friday. And it allowed for Caitlyn to play outside with the neighbor's son while I shoveled. This weekend has brought us temperatures that are below zero, so we have been pretty much holed up in the house. The only good thing to come out of that, is all the stuff I have been able to get done since it's too cold to leave.

Caitlyn loves to knock people down in the snow. Here she is getting my neighbor.

This is going to be a long one!

OK, time to catch up on everything that went down since last Thursday. We were going nonstop! But had an amazing weekend!

First off, the concert. OMG! The girl and I had such a fantabulous time that I am already wanting to take her to another one. She is a little superstar. I picked her up from school and we hit the road right away since we had about a two and a half hour drive. It's a good thing we left when we did cause the weather was crappy and there was blowing snow all the way there.

We got to the hotel, checked in, got ready, and headed right back out the door. When we got to the venue, we bought a Carrie Underwood t-shirt (for her not me). And that stupid shirt was $30.00!!! Yeah, you read that right. For a lousy t-shirt. But it was the only thing she asked me for all night, and it's a good keepsake for her. So we splurged. Then we sat down and had some hot pretzels with cheese before the show started.

When we got to our seats, I was amazed at how great our seats were. There was a runway that ran down the middle as well, which gave us a great view of the performers as they came out there.

So when the lights dimmed, the girl got so antsy I thought she was going to explode. Everyone had their cameras pointed at the stage ready to take a picture of Carrie. Not me. I had mine strategically aimed at the girl ready to get the expression on her face when Carrie came out. And it paid off!


So here are just some random pictures that I think came out pretty good.











Caitlyn's most favorite part of the concert was when the confetti fell from the ceiling at the very end! She wore her ear plugs the entire night and never complained about them. And afterwards I was so glad that I had her use them. She didn't complain about any ringing when we were back at the hotel at all.

So all in all, I am so so so glad that I bought those tickets. Yes the concert was wonderful, but we had so much fun hanging out in the car on the drive up there and back and having dinner and breakfast together. We just yakked and yakked the entire time. So it is definitely something that the both of us will remember for many years to come!

When we got home on Friday, we had enough time to unpack our overnight bags, only to repack them for the weekend. Once we were packed, we headed out to have our nails done and be pampered for just a little bit longer. Once they were dry, we went and picked up her dress from the cleaners. We went through a drive through right quick and got home with enough time to eat while Matt packed his bags before we had to head out again.

At the hotel, Caitlyn went swimming with her cousins and uncle while Matt and I got ready for the rehearsal. Then we were off to the church for that. Before we knew it, it was 10:00 and we were stuffed with loads of good food and had to make our way back to the hotel because we had to get up so early in the morning.

Once back at the hotel, all the kids went into one room and climbed into bed....while the adults headed into another room for a few nightcaps! Again, time got away from us and suddenly it was 1:30 in the morning!! And Matt, Caitlyn, and I had to be up at 7:00 in order to make it to the hair salon. So we had to shag everyone out of our room...much to their chagrin.

So we got up bright and early, raced to the salon, got hair done, raced back to the hotel, got dressed in our finest, and raced out the door to the church for the 12:30 ceremony. Which was absolutely beautiful. Caitlyn did fantastic walking up the aisle and looked so gorgeous!! She was a perfect angel throughout the entire ceremony and never complained about how long it was taking.

After pictures were taken, we all headed back to the hotel for some food. Once that was eaten, I told Matt that I wanted to the girl to take a nap as I knew she would end up being exhausted if she didn't. Lo and behold, it took her all of about 7 minutes to fall asleep once I had her out of the dress and in the bed. Then I managed to squeeze in a nap as well.

At 4:45 we were awake and getting dressed again to head to the reception. Where a good time was had by all. Once the kids were picked up at 10ish by the baby sitter, the adults were allowed to indulge in some spirits and act like fools on the dance floor.

Needless to say, by Sunday I could not only wait to get home and do nothing, but I was so eager to actually sleep in my bed that I practically walked in the door, dropped the bags, and headed straight for it.

Monday was hard and all three of us were really dragging ass. But it seems that we have recovered today. If you have managed to read all of this nonsense, you certainly are devoted. I will reward you with some pictures of the girl in her flower girl dress. Tell me this kid isn't going to be a looker when she is older.

Innocence is Bliss

Caitlyn and I were in the car the other day and we were listening to the Carrie Underwood CD (of course). The song Before he Cheats was on and she was signing it at the top of her lungs. She suddenly stops and says:

"Mom, I have a question."

N: What's that baby?

C: What does she mean when she says cheat? Is she talking about like cheating in a game or something?

I thought to myself, if she thinks tearing up someone's car is reasonable retaliation for cheating on a game, what in the world is she going to do if she ever has a boyfriend who cheats on her?? God help that guy! Then I thought about how innocent her question was and how she really didn't have any idea what the song was really about. So I told her in simple terms that her boyfriend wasn't nice to her and that's why she is destroying his car. And I swear to you, she had this look of utter satisfaction on her face. It was almost frightening.

Needless to say, I think when it comes to dating, she will probably be able to hold her own.

Tomorrow is the concert and we are completely psyched for it! She is having a difficult time sleeping tonight because she is so excited. I booked a hotel room for us so that we don't have to drive back home afterwards since it is about a 2 hour drive. The weather here has been kind of crappy, so I am not taking any chances of driving that late for that long should it end up snowing or something. Besides, it will give us more mommy-daughter time, which is always a fantastic thing!

When we get home on Friday, we are going to have our nails done for the wedding. Then we are off to the hotel that we are staying at for the wedding. Where she plans on doing nothing but swimming until it's time to go to the rehearsal.

Then Saturday we are getting up early to have our hair done. Then the wedding starts at 12:30. The reception doesn't start until 6, so we will have some downtime in there.

Sunday, we have a birthday party to go to by our house. Hopefully that will be low key and relaxing, cause we will need it.

All in all, it will be a crazy busy weekend. And come Sunday night, I think we will both be so wiped out we won't know what to do with ourselves.

I can't wait to see her reaction tomorrow when she actually sees Carrie Underwood in the flesh. She is going to go insane!