Christmas 2015: Alabama edition

We left Johnson City on the 21st and headed to Sweet Home Alabama. Having gotten Chick-Fil-A gift cards from Tennessee Santas (thank you!!), we decided to stop at a CFA outside of Knoxville for supper on our way south. Picking a random CFA off of Google Maps turned into us going to the one located smack in the middle of the Turkey Hill shopping center. 4 days before Christmas. I'll leave to your imagination the CRAZY that was traffic. It was terrible.

To make that (extraordinarily long) stop even more fun, our mostly potty-trained child had a blow out in her pull up (Praise the Lord I still insist on putting her in double pull ups when traveling). Completely unexpected and unsuspected. It wasn't until I got her into the bathroom (not the nice, roomy, handicap stall with the changing table- that one was in use) and helped her pull down her pants did I find out about this blow out. It was just everywhere. Thankfully, I had a spare pull up and an anti-bacterial hand wipe or two in my purse. I had to do all of this with Claire standing up, which was, um, challenging. Oi. She was wearing leggings underneath a tutu, so I was able to (oh so carefully) peel her leggings off, and she was still "dressed," albeit oddly. Brad was rather confused as to why it took us so long in the bathroom, but when he saw my face, he figured it out pretty quickly. At least we got to eat Chick-Fil-A as a reward for the Mess That Was That Dinner Stop.

Christmas in Alabama was a little different this year, as my sister had to have surgery around her tailbone about a week before Christmas. This left her on her stomach or side full-time for the entire time we were there (plus a while before and after, bless). Mom and Dad set Amiee up in the living room on the pull out couch, so that she could still be in the middle of the action. Claire thought it was so fun that Bo (what she calls Amiee) had a compound in the middle of the room and spent a lot of her time keeping Bo company. She was constantly asking if she could go see/talk to/kiss/eat with Bo. Thankfully, Amiee loved it; otherwise, she would have just been trapped in place with lots of enthusiastic affection. Due to Amiee's immobility, we kept our Christmas outings and frolicking to a minimum, since Amiee couldn't participate in much of anything. 

Some of my frolicking consisted of going to the dentist and getting my haircut. I was very excited about both of these appointments, as I've had tooth trouble for about a year and a half (despite two different dentists giving me two different fillings on the same tooth in two different states), and the only haircut I've had in Durham was TERRIBLE. Like, genuinely bad. I'm not too precious about haircuts in general, given that my hair grows pretty quickly, but this one was just dreadful. So, having my favorite dentist take a look at things and the guy who has been cutting my hair since I was 11 fix things was awesome.

On Christmas Eve, Dad, Brad, Claire, and I participated in the Brassart family tradition of attending the Vespers service at church. It's definitely a favorite, and it was super sad that Amiee and Mom couldn't join. It's a sweet little service where we sing a few songs, Bro. Jimmy invites all the children up to the platform, reads the Christmas story, and we disperse. It's only half an hour long, which is unexpected for newcomers. Claire went for her very first Christmas two years ago, as a 10-month-old, so this was a vastly different experience, given that she's so much bigger. She really enjoyed looking around the sanctuary (it's quite large and has a lot of decorations up at Christmas), and my dad took her down to the front for the Christmas story. I was a little concerned that she would be overwhelmed or scared (she does that sometimes), but she seemed to really enjoy it. She's quite the extrovert, so I imagine she tapped into that facet of her personality.

The kiddies listening to the Christmas story.

Christmas carols with Poppy at Vespers.

Our traditional picture with Bro. Jimmy (minus Amiee :( ) Also, please note that I'm laughing and Claire's sticking out her tongue. This was the best we got.

And one with Brad. Bro Jimmy insisted.

Sweet friends who even brought Claire a Christmas present! She loves it.

After the service was over, I was trying hard to say hi to and hug lots of favorite friends that I hadn't seen in a while, but it's HARD when it's Christmas Eve and very crowded. I felt like I didn't get to give anyone any real quality attention or conversation. However, I found out that my child is quite popular among a lot of folks that she'd never met. I guess her presence on social media has sparked a lot of interest in family friends who had never had a chance to meet her. THANKFULLY, she rose to the occasion and spoke to everyone, smiled a lot, and gave hugs when prompted (this isn't always the way things pan out, so I was relieved). I sort of felt like she had celebrity status. And, I think she rather liked it. How disconcerting... She also enjoyed running around the sanctuary (as it emptied) with the child of a high school friend of mine (how weird is that??).

After Vespers, we headed home for our traditional chili supper (in the midst of a not-so-traditional tornado watch), which we paired with a "Happy Birthday, Jesus" cake. To say Claire loved it would be a massive understatement. She continued to love it for the next few days as we polished off cake leftovers. So. much. sugar. She didn't go to sleep until after 10. CENTRAL time, which means 11 Eastern (which her body clock runs on)...

...and then she woke up before her normal time (7:00). I guess that's normal for kids on Christmas Day. The rest of us, however, were tired. Because we're grown-ups (that's code for getting older. And one of us suffers from pregnancy-induced insomnia.). Brad and I kept Claire contained as long as we could (about half an hour), and it was hard work. She'd been walking around for weeks, singing "ARRRE YOU READDDY FOR CHRISTMAS DAY TO COMMME??" from the Curious George Christmas movie, and it had finally come! Her enthusiasm was terribly cute and contagious. 

We participated in another Brassart Christmas tradition: the Christmas story before opening gifts. She waited far more patiently than I expected while Daddy read the Christmas story (as in, the real one. From the book of Luke).

Amiee's dog, Winnie, was also there for Christmas! Winnie is adorable, and we all enjoyed having her around. Claire particularly enjoyed playing with both her and Bingley, my parents' Corgi (who is also adorable). For those who want to know (and most people do), Winnie is a Miniature Teddy Bear Goldendoodle. She has her own Instagram account, which I highly recommend following: Winniewoodle. It will brighten glum days.

Here's Claire being possessive of Winnie. Poor, Winnie. She was such a good sport. Also, notice Amiee's pillow fortress. Partially used to prop her up and partially to protect her from Winnie and Claire.

Then we did presents! We all got lots of fun stuff (ahem, I got a Harry Potter adult coloring book and I love it), and Claire really enjoyed the unwrapping/taking turns process. She got a xylophone (just like Betsy from Curious George!), Disney princess dolls (she hasn't actually seen Disney princess movies other than Frozen but she really likes her dolls), a View Master (remember those?), and some rain boots (BIG HIT). Alabama Santa also brought her another pair of boots that are cuter than any of mine. What's the deal, Santa? Amiee gave Claire a complete set of Ramona Quimby books, which I am pumped about reading with her in a few years. Amiee has been starting Claire's bigger kid book collections, and it's awesome. She now has Ramona and Anne of Green Gables (which I am almost counting down the days until she's old enough for us to read...not really because her getting older makes me sad). 

Brad and I are totally turning into parents (I mean, other than the fact that we already have a child and another on the way), as evidenced by our favorite gifts: Costco membership renewal and museum membership renewal. Yippee! We can go spend the morning at the museum and follow it with a hot dog from Costco. Perfection. We also each got massages (!), which we totally loved. Thanks, Alabama Santas! Oh, and my dad picked out gifts for Amiee and me- all by himself- that are fantastic! They're candles in beautiful tea cups. Good job, Daddy! New Baby even got a few gifts.

Love.

Claire took this one. She's working on her photography skills.

She took this one, too. Brad wasn't actually angry; he was mimicking Claire's favorite face to use these days. Also, this is the only picture I got of Amiee the whole time. At least it's a cute one.

Brad got another kitchen tool that he enjoyed wielding. Have I ever written about Brad's culinary skill set? If not, I should.

Hanging with Nana, post-present opening.

Due to all the tornadoes hitting the southeast on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the weather on Christmas Day was extremely rainy and there was quite a bit of flooding throughout the county. My grammy, aunt, and uncle were going to come over for Christmas afternoon, but with standing water in the streets, we all decided it would be best if they stayed put. After Tennessee Tornado 2008, our family does not play fast and loose with severe weather.

Despite all the yucky weather, our college friend, Nathan, drove up from Birmingham to meet us for lunch on the 26th (the weather had calmed down a lot). It was so fun to catch up with him (even if Claire was being a toot that day) and share queso at one of our favorite Huntsville Mexican restaurants. Three cheers for friends who stay friends nearly a decade post-college!

Much movie watching took place while in Alabama; partially because we have a lot of Christmas movies we traditionally watch and partially because Amiee was immobile and had few other outlets. We watched the original 3 Star Wars again with the family (not out of tradition but because the new one had just come out), and of course, Claire clamored for multiple viewings of Jimmy Fallon and crew doing their Star Wars thing. Bo, being the doting aunt that she is, obliged many times. We also worked our way through All I Want for Christmas, White Christmas, Home Alone 1 and 2, and Family Man.

Because of Claire's deep and abiding love of Christmas lights and decor, my parents made sure that she got to go to the Galaxy of Lights at the Botanical Gardens and to a nearby outdoor mall that goes all out for Christmas. She absolutely LOVED it.

Gi-normous reindeer made of lights.

Mesmerized.

Telling us about the star. That shines down on Bethlehem where Baby Jesus was born.

Kisses for Poppy.

And to make things even more fun, there was a TRAIN!

We did Christmas with my mom's side of the family a couple days after Christmas and then with my dad's side a couple of days after that. It was fun to watch Claire play with my cousins' children (all girls on one side, 3 girls and 1 boy on the other) while we got to catch up with cousins, aunts, uncles, and my grammy. Also: Mom and Dad gave the cousins on Mom's side hula hoops for Christmas and made sure they had one for Claire, as well. She became extremely attached to her "circle," to the point of insisting that it sleep beside her bed at night (next to the ukulele from Ray Ray). She has a problem, y'all. She got really fun and thoughtful gifts (as did we) from our extended family, as well. Including a tractor blanket made by little cousins. They had seen a picture on Instagram of her riding Grandpa's tractor, knew she liked tractors, and made her a pink John Deere blanket. So sweet.

Little cousins on Mom's side. Claire actually cooperated for these pictures. I was floored. I think it was the positive peer pressure.

Just hanging out and eating apples.

The blanket inspiration picture.

Kisses from Grammy.

With Grammy and the little cousins on Daddy's side. Getting this shot was kind of miraculous. Brad took it, so GOOD JOB, BRAD!

We had a fantastic time in Alabama, despite the lousy weather and Amiee being out of commission. Both sides of our family are so incredibly wonderful, and we miss them so much. Thank you, Mom, Dad, and Amiee for such a lovely Christmas week. We had so much fun with you and were very sad to leave. Can't wait for your next visit!

And...I leave you with a doozie of a Claire story. Throughout Advent, Brad and I worked with Claire on memorizing Isaiah 9:6. She did very well memorizing it and really enjoyed reciting it for people. She still asks to recite it during evening prayers (even though we've moved on to learning Psalm 23. We let her say it every time, by George). Amiee got a great video of her saying it and posted it to Facebook and Instagram, if you want to see it (and you follow Amiee). Anyway, a family friend came over one night to visit Amiee, and while she was there, Claire quoted Isaiah for her. When she finished, she oh so dramatically, put her hand on her chest AND BOWED HER HEAD AS IF SHE JUST FINISHED A SHAKESPEAREAN SOLILOQUY. I was simultaneously overcome with giggles and horrified. I made sure to clarify that we did NOT teach her to dramatize her recitation. Oh my. It was such a spectacle. I kind of wish I had a video.

Now look at that: I finished up all the Christmas posts before January is even over. Who am I?? Here's hoping and can keep up the regular blog posting. (crosses fingers)

Oh! And here's a picture of yet another item that Claire became inexplicably attached to:

She kept calling it "Poppy's Robot." Who knows why...

Aggressive little helper

I'm still working on the last bit of Christmas posting, but in the meantime, I thought I'd post a little about Claire's second ever kid's birthday party (the first was for our friend, KB, but I took zero pictures then and Claire didn't do anything noteworthy...although, we did see a proposal happen! That party was held at Duke gardens, and we got front row seats to a fella proposing by the least attractive pond in the garden when a gorgeous one was not too far away. To each his own.).

Our neighbor friend turned two last week, and we were invited to his birthday party this past weekend. They held it at a new local place called Notasium that we had no idea existed. It's only been open for about 4 months and is pretty awesome. It's a music-themed play place that also offers a variety of music classes/lessons. You can take group music classes or individual lessons, like any music school, but they also have a music-themed play space. There's a rock-climbing wall that is designed like the frets on a guitar and plays musical notes when your hands grab the right strings. Once you get to the top, you can slide down a (really fast) slide. There's a bounce house that has drum beats in the floor that play when you bounce, a floor piano you play with your feet (like Tom Hanks in Big), a floor xylophone made out of lights, a stage with play instruments and stage lights for "performances," and quite a few other neat interactive exhibits. Claire and the other kiddos had an absolute blast! I was pretty concerned that she was going to put up quite a ruckus when they had us leave the play area and head to the music/singing area for the next part of the party. One of the staff musicians led the kids in a sing-along and sang a few of the birthday boy's favorites...but really, the thing that got the most attention during music time was Claire's helpful heart.

Climbing up the guitar. She was so brave...until she reached the top.

Seeing as how I couldn't get up there, our neighbor scurried up and helped her slide down.

Claire LOVES balloons. Loves them. We currently have a 3-week old, mostly deflated balloon from a restaurant visit that is still played with. Until about a week ago, we still had one that she had gotten at the BEGINNING OF OCTOBER. She loves them and can't bear to part with them. When we arrived at the party, the birthday boy had a balloon that he was carrying around and frequently releasing, necessitating adult retrieval (helium balloon). Claire was just dying to play with it, but we explained that it wasn't hers and then made sure to distract her whenever we caught her looking at it. 

Once we moved from the play area into the singing area, the ceilings were lower, meaning that when the balloon was released, Claire was tall enough to reach the bottom of the string. The kids were sitting along one of the walls, facing the musician, and all the adults were lining the remaining walls, trying to stay out of the way. The birthday boy and his parents were a little more toward the center so that everyone could see him. A few songs in, Claire noticed that our friend had let go of his balloon...and that the string was right at her height! I saw her notice this and saw her face light up. While I was trying to get her attention to tell her not to take his balloon, she ran over (through the middle of the room, in front of everyone), grabbed the balloon with gusto, and...returned it to her friend. I was so proud! All the adults were watching and commenting on how sweet it was. It was just really adorable.

Fast forward about 2 minutes. The balloon is released again. Again, Claire runs over, retrieves, and returns it. It's still cute and still sweet. 

This little routine was repeated about 15 times, and near the end, Claire was literally sitting on her heels, eyes trained on the balloon, completely ignoring the songs and dancing going on, waiting and anticipating the balloon release so that she could go retrieve. All of the commentary about it being so sweet had long since turned into straight up laughing every time. Our very aggressive little helper found quite a way to make a name for herself. Brad ran into our neighbors the next day, and they commented about their families member laughing after the party about the "little girl who kept getting the balloon." I guess there are worse things to be known for.

Action shots.

Please note the other kids watching Claire instead of the performer. Oh golly.

Before we left the party, Claire was given her very own balloon. It has made several car trips with us and has slept in her room with her for the past several sleeps. Who knows how long this one will be around?

And, one more splash of Claire for you:
After eating all the icing off of her cupcake, she informed me she was done and got up. I saved the rest of the cupcake for a few minutes, in case she changed her mind. She didn't, and before we walked out the door, I checked with her again to make sure she was finished. She was. So, I threw the cupcake remnant away.

Once we were in the car, she started asking me about her cupcake. I told her I had thrown it away because she said she was done. OH MY WORD. The end of the world. She kept repeating, "Mommy, did you throw my cupcake away? I am so sad." For the next several days, she repeated (complete with a pitiful head hang), "Mommy, did you throw my cupcake away? I am so sad..." She told people that Mommy threw her cupcake away. She told people that she was sad that Mommy threw her cupcake away. She painted Mommy as such a Villain of Confectionary Disposal. And she's really good at it! I'm very disconcerted by her skills. Heaven help us.

Christmas 2015: TN Boswell edition

The world of academia has provided us with a really nice perk (to make up for other, not-so-perky things): life on an academic calendar. This means that we live on a semester schedule, which includes longish holiday breaks that regular jobs don't usually come with. Brad had (basically) no classes the week of Thanksgiving and was done for Christmas by the first-ish week of December (he still had stuff to finish up, so we didn't head out for our travels immediately or anything, but classes ended nonetheless). We started our Christmas travels about halfway through December, which meant we got to spend a nice chunk of time with family scattered across the South. Thanks, Academia!

We spent the week of Christmas and Christmas Day with my family in Alabama, so we spent a few days before that (and a few days after that) with my in-laws in Tennessee. The drive to Alabama from Durham ranges between 9 and 10 hours (yes, it's a ridiculously long trip), but my in-laws live SO CONVENIENTLY about halfway between here and there. It's awesome. Basically, anytime we drive to my parents', we stop and spend the night in Johnson City so that we don't have to do the whole thing in one unbelievably long day (because with a mostly potty trained toddler and a pregnant me, there are quite a few stops, making the trip oh so long). So, we did our second Christmas (you know, following our Durham Christmas) yet again before actual Christmas. 

We went to Brad's Mamaw/Papaw's and Aunt Donna/Uncle JD's (who live next door to each other) for lunch and a visit the day after we arrived and had a great time! Claire got some adorable and lovable gifts (including a pair of boots that are cuter than any of mine and some more matchbox cars, which are some of Claire's absolute favorite things in the world)...and she also got what I would normally label as contraband in the Boswell house: a University of Tennessee cheerleading uniform. Brad's aunt and uncle are Vols fans and when they saw Claire in her Auburn dress on Iron Bowl day, they decided the Volunteers needed some representation. We'll see about that. New Baby got her first gifts, too! She got some clothes and a sweet little lovey. And no, she still doesn't have a name. We're trying. It's HARD, y'all.

One of her gifts: Mr. Giant Bear! She was a little scared of him at first, but I totally caught her holding his hand in the car on the way home. And, she's been dancing around the house with him since we got home.

We had fun playing games (quite a few rounds of Dominion and Qwirkle) and eating (a lot). Claire had a blast, as both Tim and Rachael were around for lots of uncle/auntie fun. Tim and Brad (and others of us, in and out) watched through the original 3 Star Wars, which Claire also rather enjoyed (I, of course, tried to distract her from the overly violent scenes). She makes excellent droid noises, by the way. She also loves this Jimmy Fallon Star Wars medley. We may have watched it in upwards of 78 times. If she asks to watch Star Wars, she's most likely asking to watch Jimmy and friends, not Harrison. She also has the best time chasing Rachael's and Barbara's dogs and chit chatting with Barbara's bird. You really should hear her speak Bird. It's...something.

I will say, she has become fairly high-maintenance at bedtime, at home and especially when we travel. There is a protocol to be followed or she WILL NOT STOP TALKING. She needs to be in her jammies AND SOCKS. She needs her good night flashlight (night light) on. She needs her water bottle nearby, her pillow in place, and her two lovies ready for bed. At Gran and Grandpa's, she also needs the gigantic blue Little Tikes car that Daddy and Uncle Tim used to play with. In the bed with her. To sleep with. Also, she sleeps in Bill's office where resides a decorative 2-foot tall suit of armor. At Thanksgiving, she spotted him, pointed, and with all seriousness asked, "WHO is THAT?" From that point on, the suit of armor needs to be shrouded in a towel. Bless us.

For church on Sunday, we decided not to try putting Claire in nursery, as she still experiences a great deal of trauma with nursery at our church here in Durham. We just decided to keep her with us in the service, crossing our fingers that she could be quiet. And you know what? She was fantastic! I had a notepad, pencil, and stickers in my purse that kept her occupied and kept a steady stream of pretzels in her little hands. She was so quiet and self-entertained...except for one moment when she misplaced her pencil, forgot we were all being quiet, and said (rather loudly), "WHERE'S THE CRAYON, MOMMY?" The surrounding pews got a good laugh out of that moment.

We did family Christmas Sunday afternoon after nap, and it was lots of fun! We felt a little weird opening more presents than everyone else (we opened our presents from everyone and they each had only two per person from us), but that did not stop us from plowing ahead, surprisingly. We got some super thoughtful and useful gifts. Claire opened her gift from Ray-Ray first, and man, has it been a hit. Back when Claire stayed with them in October, Rachael noticed that Claire enjoyed playing with Brad's old guitar, so she got Claire a toy ukulele for Christmas. Claire adores it. So much that she now insists on sleeping with it in her bed every night. At Gran's house, Nana's house, our house. It is a permanent fixture in our lives. We'll think she's been asleep for a while and then hear strumming through the monitor. Well played, Rachael, well played.

Tim got her an Etch-a-Sketch (which was super because her old one was a hand-me-down and had stopped erasing when shaken. Claire calls it a computer, bless. Aunt Sue made her a fabulous toddler-sized sleeping bag and travel pillow. It's ah-dorable. Bill and Barbara got her some bird seed for our bird feeder (she loves putting seed out for the birds and watching all the cardinals that come by for a snack). Fun fact: the cardinal is the state bird of North Carolina. They also got her new dishes for her kitchen, an Olaf blanket and sheet set, and wooden cars (y'all, this girl loves cars of all kinds), to name a few other things. So many fantastic additions. Thank you so much, family!

Tuning the ukulele.

She agreed to share with Uncle Tim...

...then she realized the anxiety associated with giving up control of her beloved instrument...

...and managed to retrieve it. Whew.

Keeping the ukulele close while looking through Gran's calendar.

And again while giving a Christmas hug to Alexis.

The dishes came with a dish drainer! Perfect for our child who loves to wash dishes.

Aunt Sue wrapped one of Bear's presents like this. SO CUTE.

Flashlight in stocking that matches Gran/Grandpa's flashlight. She was told not to shine it in anyone's eyes...

...her face when reminded of that command.

Posing with Ray Ray and the "guitar."

After we opened presents and visited for a while, Tim started playing Christmas carols on the piano and Claire accompanied him. Enthusiastically. And forcibly insisted that everyone sing along and dance to "Jingle Bells."

Tim...such a good sport.

Matching instruments!

Matching-ish tops! MANY thanks to Rachael for the additional running gear for Brad; the post-running laundry situation is now much more tolerable for the non-running (but laundry-doing) wife.

We had a great pre-Christmas Christmas with our Tennessee family and are so grateful for everyone's hospitality and generosity. It was very merry, for sure! And now, a few gratuitous shots of Claire, in an attempt to get an adorable Christmas shot. She quasi cooperated. Enjoy!

Family Christmas in Durham

Since we traveled so much at Christmas time, Brad, Claire, and I celebrated our own little family Christmas about halfway through December. This semester has been SO INCREDIBLY busy for Brad, and we thoroughly enjoyed taking a day off to do fun things (that included zero reading or homework)! We gave each other 1-2 gifts each and did stockings, so present unwrapping didn't take too long. Brad and I cracked each other up by GIVING EACH OTHER THE SAME THING. How crazy is that?? We laughed a lot over that one. Claire had a blast just soaking up the Christmas-ness of it all. One of her gifts was a stuffed dog, and she has been hilarious carrying him around, telling him to sit, and making him "lick" her face.

"Christmas" morning. I should note that the temperature got up to 75 degrees the day we celebrated. Geez Louise...it was just too weird.

Waiting to open presents...in her entirely too warm (but Christmas-y) pajamas.

Bath crayons and a new toothbrush from her stocking.

Her main gift: a Thomas the train track and accessories for her Thomas trains. We actually didn't purchase this, as it was a complete set that my granddaddy had at his house. When we went back to Alabama in April, my mom and aunt gave it to me for Claire, and I decided to save it for Christmas. It was a great idea, as she REALLY enjoys it. She partially enjoys using it as a track and partially enjoys putting it together, taking it apart, putting it together, and taking it apart again. To each her own.

My gifts from Brad! Love them both. (Ignore the stuffed friends in the background; not mine.)

And...the matching gifts we gave each other. Great minds? It's a strategy game, by the way. If you come visit, we'll teach you! It's great fun, and we are super thankful that Eric and Ashley introduced us.

Brad made glazed raspberry rolls for breakfast, which were great (although his cinnamon rolls are the BEST), and we watched Home Alone, apparently for the first time in a long time, as I kept forgetting what was going to happen. Also, we watch it differently now that we're parents; we found ourselves saying things like, "That is such bad parenting!" and "Oh no those kids did NOT mouth off like that!" Oh man. The kids on Home Alone are so sassy and rude. They for real need a time out.

We had planned to get something fancy-ish for lunch, but we ran into a few problems with trying to call in a take out order...so we just decided to pick up Cook Out for lunch, which ended up being an awesome idea (and only about 5 minutes from our house). It's a chain restaurant, but from what I can tell, it's primarily in the Carolinas (I hadn't heard of it until we moved here). After lunch, Claire and Brad ended up playing outside in the cul-de-sac with some neighbor friends for a long time before nap- Claire in her Christmas pj's the whole time. Oops.

After nap, we joined some friends of Brad's from Duke at a little Christmas gathering for a few of us with little kids. It was really fun to meet some more folks with little ones, and we all had a good time hanging out and snacking. I successfully hid the fact that there were Christmas cookies present for as long as I could. Then she found out. A sugar high commenced, bless us.

Christmas cookie as big as her face.

Speaking of snacking, we decided it would be fun to eat party/finger foods for supper at home, so we made sausage balls, veggies and dip, pigs in a blanket, and Rotel dip. We are so healthy on "Christmas." Claire did not even know what to do with herself and all the unhealthiness she was allowed to eat. (What? At least we didn't leave her at home while we traveled to Paris for Christmas.) And just for funsies, we watched the movie Home, because I'd wanted to see it when it came out but had never gotten around to it. Not at all Christmas-y but cute nonetheless.

For fun, I let her take down some of the lower ornaments and then redecorate. It was a hit.

Claire has started showing interest in using my camera, so I let her take this picture. Not too shabby, I thought.

We had a super day (despite the midday migraine I got) and really enjoyed Christmas: round 1. The only tricky thing is weaning Claire off the idea that we will be celebrating Christmas every few days from here on out. Pray for us, friends. It's going to be rough.

Happy New Year! (And another rebate app to help you save the money!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you were all able to ring in 2016 with loved ones and yummy food. We certainly did. We're looking forward to what 2016 holds (particularly New Baby! and the end of course work for Brad!). I'd tell you all the fantastic, party-rrific things we did to celebrate the new year, but it would look like us watching football, doing a puzzle, and going to bed before midnight. PARTY ANIMALS. We enjoyed it, though, so I'm not knockin' it. This is a good representation of yesterday:

Happy New Year!

A while back, I wrote about Ebates and how Brad and I have been earning quite a bit of money back on purchases and referrals we make online. Seriously, y'all: it's been fantastic. We ended up having to take care of a ton of car maintenance right at Christmas time (our timing is awesome) but simultaneously were informed that we were getting a check from Ebates for almost $200, which put a nice buffer in place (and made our feelings hurt a little less). I cannot recommend it enough. And, if you use my referral (button in sidebar!), you and I both get a cashback bonus! It's a win-win all the way around.

In the spirit of sharing helpful tips with friends, I thought I'd tell you about Ibotta, as well. Ibotta is another kind of rebate app that I've been using for about 6 months. I use it primarily for groceries, but it can also be used on select restaurants and retail purchases. I use it sort of like you would use coupons in store. Except, I don't have to clip and hand over coupons. The way it works:
1. You make your purchases.
2. You pull up the app and find the rebates available at the store you shopped at. 
3. You load the rebates that you want.
4. You scan the barcodes of those items that you purchased and take a picture of your receipt.
5. You submit your images.
6. Money is added to your account.
Some weeks you rack up, some you don't. But some is better than none, in my opinion.

When you have $20 worth of rebates in your account, you can cash out with PayPal, Venmo, or with a selection of gift cards you might like. I've made almost $40 in the past 6 months just from taking a few minutes to scan things after a grocery trip. Guys, when you're married to a fella in a Ph.D. program and you're a stay-at-home mom, you take cash back when you can, and getting it back on groceries is awesome. 

HERE'S my Ibotta referral link, if you want to check it out. If you use it, you and I both get a sign-up/referral bonus. Yay! It's a little more work than Ebates, in that you have to play occasional 15-30 second videos or read short recipes or answer a poll question, but I've found it to be a nice little reward for going grocery shopping.

I hope it works well for you! Happy shopping and happy 2016!