Christmas Morning

Ahhhh...we made it to Christmas morning!  I went to bed at 2:30AM.  And the kids started waking us up around 5:00AM.  We didn't get up until 6:30AM though.

Ashley is BEYOND excited about getting the American Girl doll Julie for Christmas! 

I would say that the kids are SUPER happy with what they got!  And it has been a very successful Christmas morning.

I got the hat I wanted!  YAY!  I LOVE IT!  I even got it in green which is the color I really wanted!

Last night I teased a friend of mine on Facebook.  She asked WHEN would her daughter go to sleep?  I said, NEVER and then she would fall asleep in church in the morning.  Well the jokes on me!  My boys fell asleep in church this morning.

We had Christmas lunch at church.  I'm so thankful some families stepped up to host it this year.  I would really miss it if we hadn't had it.  And of course we made our annual birthday present to Jesus.  This year is is cupcakes.

I wanted to get some pictures of the kids.  The lights were off in the auditorium.  I did plug in the tree.  I couldn't see what I was getting, but I was snapping pictures anyway.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!   We feel very blessed this Christmas and we hope that you are blessed as well!

Christmas Eve

 It's Christmas Eve and that means my kids get to open their presents from their grandparents.  We Skyped with both sets as they opened their presents.

Ashley got this tiger scarf/hat/mitten thing.  I knew she would love it.  Ashley LOVES tigers!  But when it came it wasn't a tiger.  It was a leopard.  A very cute leopard, but um that's not what Gramma ordered.  So the company told us to keep the leopard and they sent out the tiger right away.  YAY! That's awesome customer service!

Aussie got a DSi game that he really wanted, Pict Cross 3D and this book "How to be a Genius".

 In which he promptly handed over to his Dad and said, "Here catch up!"

 Mason was SUPER excited to get this Nintendo Monopoly game!  We played a game before bedtime.

They also got several giftcards and they are super excited about having some money for extra things.

Thank you so much Gramma, Grampa, Nana and Papa!!

And when the kids FINALLY went to bed...Santa came to visit.

 

 Shhh...don't tell I borrowed the Santa picture.  It's only for my use I'm not selling it or anything.

Friday, Dec. 23

And Friday I insisted on taking some family pictures.  It is like pulling teeth around here to get a good picture.  I tried.

 Friday- I also decided to create some of the kids favorite Pokemon into pillow animals.  I worked nearly all day on them.  And in the meantime my house that I have been desperately trying to get/keep clean went to pot.  I have to admit I was pretty disappointed in that.  It's the one thing I ask for Christmas every year and never get.

This is Liepard- the Pokemon Aussie likes.

This is Reuniclus- for Mason.

 I don't know why Ashley's picture didn't load but here it is on the right.  It's called Simipour.

 And because I didn't have anything better to do-HA!  I made cat toys.  The cats kept coming around as I made them, but now that they are readily available they could care less about them.  Ashley likes them though.

Thursday, Dec. 22

 Thursday Doris came over and we had a little gift exchange with the kids.

  I found this towel and knew I had to get it for her son! He likes anything with teeth!

 Before I gave it to him I got a little nervous because it wasn't a toy.  But my fears were relieved when he started crawling across the floor.

Because I am SO MEAN!  I made the kids pose for a picture before exchanging gifts. Are you kidding? I would never be able to get the picture without a little leverage.

I suspect there will be a follow up picture.

Not like my kids who were fighting it, G. loved every minute of it.  Yeah- that's what we do to our guest when you come over.  :)

It all worked out!

Well several days ago I was FUMING MAD.  Did you see the smoke and wonder where it was coming from?  Well now you know.

  You see the day before Thanksgiving I went to Sam's Club and purchased a computer.  I saw an ad that was 24 months same as cash financing.  That was the ONLY way I could afford this computer.  When I checked out I asked the clerk, how do I get this 24 months same as cash deal?  She said, "Oh you just put it on your Sam's credit card and you will get it."  "Really?", I asked. " Oh yes that's all you have to do.", she said.  I checked out.  Halfway home I realized she didn't ask me if I wanted the extended warranty.  Well with my track record with computers I definitely wanted it.  So I returned.  This time I was talking to the manager.  Since I was hesitant about the financing deal I decided to ask her.  Again the MANAGER assured me that all you had to do was put it on your card.  OK so I purchased my warranty and was on my way.  It just didn't set right with me.  So several days later I get an email from Sams saying to take advantage of their 18 month financing.  I looked at it closely and it said that the barcode had to be scanned.

  So I called Sam's credit card company and asked if I got the 24 month same as cash deal. 

 GUESS WHAT?

  I didn't! I asked them what I could do.  The first person was no help at all.  I said, "so you are saying if I can't pay for this computer this month that I should return it?" His answer was, "YES".  Can you believe it?  I've already purchased Microsoft Office and put Photoshop on here and transferred hundreds of pictures.  I asked to talk to his supervisor.  She was nicer and offered the solution of me getting the 18 month same as cash, but in order to do that I would need to return the computer and purchase it again.

I cried!

I can afford $40/month but this brought it up to $65/month.  That $15 makes a big difference when you are already on a tight budget.

I couldn't do anything about it for several days- I was just too angry!

Fast forward to today.  I decided to get the 18 month financing so I went in to the store, but first I tried to make one more plea to the manager there.  I told her how I was angry with 2 of her employees and told her the story.  She apologized  up and down and told me she would hold a meeting to make sure everyone knew the proper procedure.  She said that if the credit card company wouldn't budge then there would be no way she could get the 24 month deal.  She did say we could do the 18 month deal and she helped me return it and repurchase it.  Actually, several things happened and it was not a smooth transaction but it all worked out.

Turns out the computer was on sale today for $150 less than I paid for it.  And I was able to return it at the old price and get the new price.

I did the math.

Turns out it will be $40/month for the 18 month financing.

Oh dear- Greg told me I should go to bed before it got too late and now it's TOO LATE.  The internet has been down and I was just able to get on.  I better go to bed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wasn't going to do anything special for today.  I always get a little depressed without family around on Thanksgiving.  But last minute Wednesday night, I went to Walmart and got some food.

With a little ham, mashed potatoes, corn pudding, green beans, corn bread AND...

German chocolate pie we celebrated Thanksgiving.

The kids told us what they were thankful for.

Aussie went first: 1. Family members and future family members

2. Food  3. Everybody that was born

Mason next:

1. Mom, Dad and Family 2. Jesus, God and Holy Spirit 3. Food 4. Kiki, Izzy, Tika, Sally

Then Ashley (much to her dismay being last):

1. Family 2. A pretty Mommy 3. Christmas tree and decorations 4. God 5. Every holiday

She BEGGED and BEGGED and BEGGED some more for Greg to get the Christmas trees out of the garage.  So he did and I put one of them up in the family room.  The kids decorated it and I have yet to take a picture.  There are NO ornaments at the top of the tree because they couldn't reach up there.

Mason plays this game with Greg.  He calls it the imitator.  And it freaks Greg out!

 At 7:00 I headed out to go shopping.  My night started with a big bang- literally.  I rear ended a person.  I'm not even sure what happened.  I thought they were moving and when I realized they weren't I put on the breaks and slid into her.  I barely hit it.  She was a drama queen!  I scuffed up her bumper.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't anything more than that.  But she was saying OH THIS is gonna have to be fixed.  Do you have your insurance on you.  Oh this is terrible. Blah blah blah!  We exchanged phone numbers and I told her I would call her the next day.  But Greg said to wait until she calls me.  No call so far.  Hopefully, she won't call.

Anyway, it put a damper on the rest of the night.  I couldn't find what I was looking for at Walmart.  I'm pretty sure I asked every single employee, manager, etc. there.  I finally found one person who knew where the item was.  He got it and put it behind the desk.  Then at 10:00PM when the sale started, he pulled it out and handed it to me.  Then I rushed to Target to stand in line until they opened at midnight.  I met one of my friend's there so it was nice hanging out in line with someone I knew.  I was able to get everything I wanted there as well.  Then I came home and couldn't fall asleep until 4:30AM.

Needless to say Friday was a blur!

Ashley had a playdate.  I took her to Abby's house.  Then I went to Target because I thought I got charged wrong.  Turns out what I bought was in the wrong spot, but they honored the sale since others were there.  Then I got some batteries at Staples and some toilet paper at Walgreens.  After I picked up Ashley at 9PM.  Greg and I watched a movie.  It was ok.  I think it was called Super 8.

Oh one of the evenings that I took the kids to play practice, I sat in the car and watched a movie.  I watched Captain America.  I really liked it.  That would be one I would recommend, Super 8- not so much. 

Then on to today.

Today was full of getting my computer set up the way I want it.  It was quite frustrating.  After doing a lot of work I messed it up.  But I think I have Outlook the way I want it now.  I had to do some research online to figure out how to combine my emails and to import contacts and such.  But I did it! ON MY OWN!

I've transferred all of my pictures over to this computer and a few of my important documents.  I still need to find the disk that has my recipe program.  I'm not sure where that is, but I certainly need it!  I have a lot of recipes in that program on my old computer.

The kids have had too much unstructured time and they are getting on each others nerves.  Ashley has another playdate scheduled for Monday, but hopefully we can get some schooling in before she goes to her friend's house.

Alright, Greg is telling me it is late and we need to get up and go to church in the morning.  So I'm off for now.

More Catchin' up- with a new laptop

Seriously?  Nearly a week without blogging?
I wonder if I can even remember what happened.

Monday-  Ashley had a friend over, Eve.  They played so well together.  Eve is a delight.  I know Mason got upset because Ashley wouldn't play with him.  But she really needed the girl time.  That evening they had play practice.

Tuesday- I think I spent most of the day planning where I was going to go on Black Friday.  Then all of my plans changed in an instant when I found a sale on something.  It used to be so nice to be able to say anything on my blog and Facebook, but now I have readers who read my blog and look over my shoulder.  So I can't tell what I got.  My laptop continued to get worse.  It kept shutting down on me.  When the kids came back from play practice they found that the screen on THEIR laptop is now broken.  I have the worst luck with computers!

Wednesday- I remember this day well!  I got up early and went to Sam's Club.  Sam's Club has a deal right now that on one item over a certain amount you can get 24 months same as cash financing.  SO...
I bought this.  Merry Christmas to me!

One of my favorite things about this that I didn't know it had when I purchased it, is the fingerprint login.  It scans your fingerprint to log you in.  How cool is that?  Of course you can login with a password if you need to.  Anyway, I like it.  I really do.  However, with every new thing there is a bit of a learning curve.  I'm not used to Microsoft Office 2010.  It is quite a bit different.  So I've been slowly learning.

 Also on Wednesday, my friend Doris and her son came over to visit.  I played a bit on my computer and then scrapbook.  I made hamburgers and french fries for lunch.  And for dinner I made chicken salad croissants.  And for the kids I made Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.  Man there is nothing like it!  I still love it after all these years.

 The kids mainly played video games all day.  They played some hide and go seek, Legos and I think created a craft, and jumped on the trampoline.

Doris' son is super friendly, but he can't remember names for anything.  He has called my kids the triplets forever.  But today he was calling for Austin upstairs.  I said, Austin is in the family room.  He said, "No, the other one."  Doris and I get a kick out of it.