Xmas 2011: Over

Christmas around here is really about three things:

-family

-friends

-presents*

{*this holiday and birthdays are the only time I visit the toy aisle all year long-cause I'm not a sucka.much)

We are little more:

than:

But every year I hope for this:

This year we celebrated the 

Welch Family Christmas the week before the 25th. This is normal for us and the best idea ever...this year we had the Taco Cart Guy.always awesome! 

{my girls with their Great-Great Grandma Rita}

It's always great to see my aunties, uncles, cousins, Grandpa and my Great Gma. Bradley was able to have the entire day off to join us, it was a great day.

We didn't get to see Brad's family this year. Next year we really need to make a trip out to Nevada.

{us}

Christmas Eve my dad and his lovely girlfriend Carol came by with goodies. 

{Flip Cameras-now they don't have to steal my phone}

For the last decade or so we have spent Xmas Eve with friends. Our friend Peggy passed away in April but we are SO thankful her daughter Sucky (Jessica)and Rose carried on the tradition and had us all over. Everything was perfect. 

It's so nice to visit and EAT with good friends♥. 

This year I finished my shopping weeks ahead of time...so early in fact that Black Friday had nothin' on me and I completely forgot most of what I bought.

A few last minute revisions made by one small peeps list caused a last minute K-Mart..yes..K-Mart shopping trip along with a Target one(thanks for joining me mom!). 

Normally I don't give into these added items, especially if I'm DONE shopping, but this year I was a little soft {*}.

Christmas morning was lovely. 

I woke up at 6am after 4.5 hours of sleep, needing to go potty...but I didn't want to wake up anyone else. So for 30 minutes I thought about waking everyone up, bangin' out 12 minutes of unwrapping festivities and climbing back into bed while they played. (I actually told Brad a 1:30am that we should just let them know right then that Santa came so we can sleep until 8am).

By 6:52 everyone was awake and the breakfast casserole and Monkey Bread were in the oven. 

Present Time!

(I told you Christmas was about presents over here)

Brad was able to stay home with us until 11:45am then he was off to work.

 That evening we enjoyed some yummy Chinese food:

{flaming pineapple}

Good Times.

Insta-Friday:lots of great and a drop of drama edition

Here's two weeks worth of Insta-ness:

*Last Monday was my "25th" birthday.

*My husband is super.

*Goodies for co-workers {these are awesome}.

*They got little bags of fun too.

*Kids dig technology.

*Something ate these TOMS after 4 times of wear.mystery.

*Nutcrackers are great.

*Trees make great photo ops.even if you didn't actually climb the tree.good thing your dad is 6'4".

*"I love sushi."well California rolls anyhow.

*This happened.

*Play-doh is always rad.

*Kits are fun.never taste good.

*Made these.love her.

*Freaks making the fun-nasty kit.

We just wanted to make cookies...

I SOOO appreciate all the concern and well wishes everyone sent yesterday. Juliet is doing fine and sporting her wrist guard and stitches like they are accessories. 

I've had several of you ask "what the hell happened?" So here's how the freak show went down(yes I'm long winded):

   The girls and I went to the library, then to a Japanese food restaurant that is next to what would be our next destination: the grocery store.

I sent my mom a text to invite her and Randy(her bf)to join us for some sushi. They were there just as we were finishing. I told the girls to use use the restroom at the restaurant but they insisted on waiting because they LOVE going in the back of the grocery store to use theirs. "Whatever." I said. When I paid for our food I secretly paid for my mom and Randy's too.

   Off into the grocery store the girls and I went. A few minutes later when my mom realized I paid for their food they came in the store to give me a hard time and thank me. During this time the girls needed to use the bathroom, "don't be loud and wash your hands" I said. 

   A few minutes later I heard them from an isle over, and rolled my eyes in regards to them being loud. Then in that instant i said out loud "shit that's a hurt cry!" and ran to the other isle while Abby was telling my mom and I that "sissy's hurt bad."

   Juliet had spotted Randy at the end of the other isle and began running toward him (I didn't see him and just though she was running like a crazy person) so I yelled for her to stop. She did, yelling and crying.then I saw all the blood. "Oh my God" was all my mom heard and then was the call-911-panic. Apparently Siri thinks "call 911" sounds like "call Gwen" my boss. Good thing Randy was able to sanely dial his phone. During this panic mode Nicole, an RN, appeared and help immensely until the paramedics got there. Nicole assured me the cut was not over her artery(i think that's right?) and whispered, "it'll be alright." My mom was holding Juliets wrist while we got her up onto the check out belt. {My only suggestion when the kids get bumps at home is "grab a coldy(ice pack) outta the freezer." So I grabbed a pack of P.F. Changs Orange Chicken out of the freezer area...not helpful Kim. Hope they didn't put it back, there was blood on it.} Along with drips up and down the isle. 

   Nicole stood holding Juliets arm up while chatting with her to keep her calm. Not really sure what I was doing(besides grabbing a Pillow Pet off the shelf for Juliet to hug on). My mom was being frozen by the orange chicken she didn't realize she was holding. Randy was on the phone with 911. The store manager had her clip board ready to take my info. Brad was waiting at work to know what was going on next. 

   The ambulance(and fire truck) quickly arrived. I hugged Nicole about 3 times and thanked her. Asked my mom to pay for the Pillow Pet-Ralphs comped it. The girls and I boarded Orange Fire Ambulance #4 and took off to St. Joesph's.all is well.
I know for some families stitches aren't a big deal. For us over here though this is NOT the norm. I've been lucky enough to avoid any sort of major injury with my peeps for almost 11 years. It's something I hope I don't have to ever get used to. However I now have more of a realization and empathy to those in this situation.
Hug your kids people.tight.
Be thankful for family members and strangers alike.

So just what happened in the restroom? Here is the story according to my little peeps:

This trashcan was over-full and when Juliet put her paper towel in the front part the swinging portion stuck up in the back. Juliet reached around the back to push it down. Her hand got stuck and she tried to yank to out. The lip around the inside edge of the top is sharp metal.evil trashcan.

yes i have people.the end.

In such a freak-non-ideal situation anything that could have gone RIGHT did:

*Juliet's cut was not across any arteries, tendons or nerves.

*Juliet is lucky to have a big sister that alerted me to the issue quickly.

*My mom and Randy happened to be at the grocery store when we were.

*Nicole, an RN happened to be in the store.

These little things all add up to big pluses in this crazy ordeal.

Good Karma.Good Karma.

Insta-Friday-late edition.

Last week...

One of my lovely coworkers won a Smart Board...anyone in education is drooling right about now. If you are scratching your head imagine a white board (formerly a chalk board) that can connect to an ELMO (formerly an overhead projector). Pages can be instantly photographed and viewed on the board, in which you can switch easily through them. Oh and it also is pretty much like Microsoft Word..all by using your fingers on the board...drawing, erasing..simple enough, right?

Oh Camp Scherman...anyone that was a Girl Scout in Orange County knows all about this.love.love.love. I feel so lucky I'm able to revisit this place.a consolation prize for having girls.

Quality Movies=wholesome family time.

Ummm...only on the 5 southbound toward TJ.

Insta-Friday: Gobble Vacation Edition

Nowadays over here (a many other school districts) Thanksgiving means an entire week of school off. And (hello furlough days) this also means a week off for me too...which is nice.

This had to have been one of the best days ever that i have spent with my little peeps. Roller skating (yes, of course I skated) with friends, the park, Pier 1, Flame Broiler for dinner, then Barnes & Noble.great day.

Funky Santa Metro Link train production. Full-fun tub. Patient 14 year old cat. My desk. My hard-hat wearing husband looking at the receipt that says we'll be getting $8.13 for recycling our 5.5 year old washer.humbling.

Gobbling it up at my dads. Too many documentaries lead me to do crazy things. FYI, celery is strong when juiced. Happy Subway customers.

Insta-Friday:Random Edition

*pumped my own gas for the second time since we bought this automobile in April

*Soy Nog...if only Mother's Market had samples of this stuff

*My little turkey:well worth taking a 1/2 day off work for

*This is what happens when I hoard Bradley's paychecks

*Made these.and that was the end.

I gave up on this...my ocd gets in the way of spontaneous niceness..

Insta-Friday:Mostly Food Edition

Last Friday started with a round of streep for one of my little peeps..and some freaky-huge tonsils.not cute.

 Cheap muffin mix and 1/4 of whole wheat flour=scones

 This makes working at a new school just a little easier.

Attempting something new and "fun."

Those aren't pancakes...they are supposed to be tortillas:fail...fun-ish though.

Scary.

My magical kit I got from here.

{I'm too lazy at this point to take a final product picture..but it's pretty awesome.even if my husband had to school me on some sewing machine tips.}

 Dinner date with my Abigail....a sandwich for her...burrito salad for me! 
Thank goodness for strip malls.

Bounce house birthday party. Always fun.

No, it's not Friday.

I'm failing at this.

Real Insta-Friday: iPhone Style

A few weeks ago I got this:

I'm not usually one to be all hyped up on technology, but after spending 15 days serving Jury Duty on a computer hardware patent case I'm all over it! 

{Thanks c3mos, or should I say Dr. Armond Harapetian for the 3 hour testimony.}

Siri is now a part of the family.

No this isn't an 8-track. This is the Otter-Box cover for my phone...because I drop phones...and it would be a sad day in Mudville if she broke. Unfortunately since she's SO new & FANCY{cough*gloat) they don't have pretty colors to cover her yet.

Thank you Costco for making my 6 year old and I happy!

The girls have been begging to go to this park in ghetto Anaheim for ages...it really is a great park.

And it was gorgeous out.

Ahh Halloween Fun-fetti cake...4 days after Halloween.

I had to make something I liked.

{since I already raided the candy buckets}

The Happy Day Project

Being spontaneous and randomly thoughtful doesn't always seem to be the first choice over here. So it's something I {we, but default} are going to attempt to work on...we'll see how it goes.

Here is the mission:

Read this.

I have a blog crush on this lady. 

Don't tell her, I'm local so now it just sounds creepy. ;-)

Here was the inspiration:

Read this.

I started this morning by offering to get my co-workers this:

{yes, it IS self-serving as well}

However one insisted it was their turn to buyand forced me to take money...but I am SOOOO still counting this one!

While there I also got one of these

for the new teacher I'm working with... after all the woman has aloud me sneak out early all this week since we had 1/2 days. It's such a treat to leave work early to pick up my own kids from school♥

This brought some extra happiness this morning...from a thoughtful coworker.

Cheater Crafty & Overexposure...

I'm not crafty...but sometimes I get these (cheater) ideas in my head and just have to make something. Even if it's just a few little things.cute or not.i'll obsess on it if i don't try it.

So I made a few of these little guys.put them and all the supplies into a ziploc baggie and that was the end. 

 Next up are a few pictures from Treats in the Streets. It used to be a fun stroll through The Circle (aka Old Town Orange). Antique store owners would sit outside their little shops and pass out candy to local kids sporting their sweet costumes. We would walk all four quarters of the area with Abigail toddling around. 

However over the years it's become BIG.and.CROWDED. We now only spend about 20 minutes walking to 10 store fronts while I'm telling the girls "I'll just buy you an entire bag of candy at Target." 

The girls look forward to this event each year and enjoy it and actually don't complain when I cut it short.mom sucks.sorry. 

I do like the annual family photo op that I have my mom take while I'm bitching at her to hurry up and she's bitching cause people are walking in front of her shot. 

The end is like a frustrating freak-show.and this is all me...being a frustrated freak-show. Thanks to my family that puts up with me.

Here are my overexposed shots:

Thanks mom♥for the good one!