It snowed!

It snowed quite a bit on Christmas day and into the next day too. We had almost 14 inches. It was beautiful. Although I was pretty tired of being cooped up in the house since we were all sick the week before, but it was still very pretty, and who doesn't want a white Christmas?

I finally managed to get the kids out in the snow the second day we were housebound. Addie lasted all of 10 minutes, but atleast she went this time. Hayes just goes with the flow, most of the time. He's been a bit grumpy with some new teeth coming in and a little cold. He didn't complain about being out in the snow though. I think he was just glad to get out too!

This was what my deck looked like. I could barely get out the back door to snap these pictures. The snow was deep and hard by day three.

But isn't it beautiful? I think our house looks so pretty surrounded by snow.

It took us 20 minutes to bundle the two of them up for their first adventure in the snow. It didn't go well. Not at all...

She was not a fan of the snow blowing into her face and eyes.

They even tried sunglasses and a "fun" sled, but she just wasn't having it.

This is how she spent the rest of the morning....warm and dry and with a snack....

.... watching the little girls across the street build a snowman.

Thank you Daddy for bringing my favorite chair over here so I could enjoy the snow too!

Cookies for Ho Ho

The mean ole' stomach bug hit the Hewitt household right smack in the middle of Tim's "vacation week", so we were down and out for a few days. It was miserable, and yes, I still hate vomit. I hate it even more now. However, I am thankful that it is over and that we were feeling better just in time for Christmas. Hayes was feeling so good he decided to eat some beans while Addie and I prepared Ho Ho's cookies and milk.

She's a great little helper....a little stubborn and a bit bossy, but overall, a great helper.

Ho Ho loved these cookies. And Addie didn't mind that she couldn't take a little nibble on them because she discovered the hershey's kisses instead. They are egg-free and made in a peanut-free facility....heck yeah!!! I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and time spent with family. The bug might have crippled us for a few days, but we did without a doubt like spending some time together. I have lots of pictures to share over the next few days!

A few of my favorite things...

besides these little people that is....

Oprah has inspired me to think about some of my favorite things here lately. I decided to start snapping some pictures of some of things in my life that I think are pretty cool. Now, it goes without saying that my family tops everything on this list. They are by far my most treasured "things". I decided to gear this list mainly towards luxuries....things that I love to have, but do not necessarily have to have to be happy. Fortunately, I have a very hard working hubby, who loves to spoil us and give us extras every now and then. I also happen to be the only child of a momma who loves to shop and pamper her "little girl" and her grandbabies. So....here goes....some of my favorite things...in no particular order....

My phone. It may not have texting, or a touch screen, but I love it. It keeps me in touch with some very special people, and I would be lost without it.

Yankee Candles. I am addicted to the smells of the season. If its fall, I want Autumn Wreath. If its spring, I want Honeysuckle, and at Christmas, my favorite is either Welcome Christmas, or Mulling Spices (as introduced to me by my friend Shana).

My living room suit. I love my family room. I love lounging on the couch while my babies play in the floor and my husband watches football. To me, the family room is the one room in the house where everyone should feel cozy and welcome. My new living room suit was a special gift for us this year, and I have a feeling it will be a part of many memories for us for many years to come. It rocks!

My Northface coat. I wear this coat every day in the winter. I have never worn a warmer coat. If they made them smaller and a little cheaper for babies, I would have cloaked my infants in them the minute they entered this world. This happens to be the second black Northface that Tim has purchased for me for two of my birthdays. I left my car unlocked one night and the first one was stolen. I am guessing the person must have been pretty cold. Tim knew how much I loved that coat, so a year later, he got me another one. I love him, and I love this coat. I never leave it unattended now.

Countertop cleaner. We recently got new granite countertops in our kitchen. They are so much prettier than the dirty, stained-up cream colored ones we used to have, and I am pretty protective of them. I must wipe down my counter-tops 10 times a day. It's borderline obsessive. I don't feel like my kitchen is clean unless my counter-tops have been wiped down. Apparently you have to use a special cleaner for granite. I found this generic cleaner at our local grocery store for a reasonable price. I love it. I love that it makes my counter-tops sparkle.

My Dyson. If you don't have a Dyson, you need one. Just start saving now. Go to Kohls, open up a credit card and save 20%, and make sure you do it when they are giving out Kohls cash too. Then you can spend the cash later on birthday/Christmas gifts. I LOVE my Dyson. Since my babies are allergic to EVERYTHING, I love this thing. My mom loves hers too. My Memaw, and my step-mom...several of my close friends...they all love theirs too. Get yourself a Dyson.

My floor steamer. Again, I love anything that helps me make my house cleaner and safer for my kids. This thing is AWESOME. My mom bought it for herself, let me use it one time, and then she never saw it again. She gave it to me and got herself another one. See...I told you she spoils me. It makes "mopping" a breeze. It doesn't use/need chemicals to clean your floors. And believe me, it gets them very clean. If it works with a child like Hayes in the house, it works anywhere. If I had just a little more money, I would buy one for everyone on our Christmas list.

Uggs. I love these boots. I especially love how my little girl looks in these boots. Her mamaw and her Daddy got her these boots as an early Christmas gift this year. We bought them a little big, so hopefully we will get two years out of them. She knows she looks adorable. She does not know what Uggs are, and that's just fine with me. It's best that way....he he

My jeans. Thanks to my friend Kristy, I have become addicted to these outrageously priced blue jeans. And thanks to my mom (and Tim one time too!) I have collected four pairs of these babies. I wear them every day. You may have heard me call them "my skinny jeans". They help hide my bad parts and they feel soooooo good. When Tim found out we were having a girl the first time around, he said "Oh no....she's gonna want designer jeans too!) If you haven't tried these jeans on yet, head to Nordstroms and ask for "Hudsons". They will even hem them for free. Yeah....they are that ridiculous!

Tim as a Daddy. I can't brag enough about my hubby and his parenting skills. He is almost always very patient and "fun" as Addie would say. No matter how tired he is, or how late it is and he still needs his shower for the day, he climbs into that little bed of hers each night and reads her a story. I LOVE this.

I absolutely love getting Christmas cards. I stalk the mailman and know the exact hummmm of his little truck as it makes its way around our court this time of year.

My new tree skirt. Tim bought me this tree skirt that I had been eyeing for several years now. I think it will be the perfect thing to pass down to Hayes' family one day when he has a wife and child of his own. I am sappy like that.

My milestone ornaments for the kids. Each year (well, three years now) I have made milestone ornaments for Addie. Hayes got his first milestone ornament this year too. His ornament's described giving up the bottle and almost walking....can you guess what Addie's milestone was this year?

My tree. I have decided to decorate our tree with ornaments only...no tinsel, or garland, or ribbon, although I think those things are very pretty and make a tree look very festive. I want to stuff our tree full of homemade ornaments and sentimental pieces and am saving all the limb space for that sort of thing. Check back in 20 years. I was on a roll this year with homemade decorations for the tree.

Snow. I especially love it when it snows on or near Christmas. It makes me feel even merrier and reminds me of Christmases growing up in West Virginia.

Not pictured: Starbucks Caramel Brulee Latte, Tim's Chicken Parmesean Subs, Memaw's homemade biscuits and chocolate cake, Dave's steaks, Hewitt's stuffed mushrooms and homemade donuts, Sweatpants, Grape Sodas, Funnel Cakes, and Snicker bars.

So, there you have it, some of my favorite "things". I am blessed and am grateful for these "luxuries" I do not for a second forget how very lucky I am. I hope everyone gets a chance to have a few of their "favorites" this holiday season.

Fun with friends...

I put little trees in Addie and Hayes' rooms this year to spread a little holiday magic up to their rooms. They love them. Addie especially loves that her tree makes her room not as dark as usual and she can "read" until the wee hours at night. Her tree has all "girly" things on it, and Hayes' tree is sports themed per his Daddy's request. Mamaw helped find some little sporty ornaments that were perfect for his tree. I had a lot of fun decorating these little trees.

This is what three crazy mommas look like out to lunch with 5 kids under the age of three. It was Chik-fil-a too, so this crazy momma had to pack lunch for her babies since they use peanut oil for their food. Yes, I was that desperate for some adult interaction this particular day. I love these women, and they have the best little boys for Addie to play with.

It's also pretty cool that several of them are rather crafty and help me and the kids create cute little gifts and decorations for the holidays. Maybe you will get one of these little creations in your stocking this year?

This particular time it was 5 mommies and 8 little ones under the age of three. Several of the babies were strapped to their mommies or drinking the dog water (guess who that was) when this picture was snapped. We had just finished making reindeer placemats. Such fun!

I have plenty of pictures to share and am working on my "favorites" post for this particular Christmas. One of which is the beautiful snow we got today....

Handsome Hayes

He took 9 steps in a row today. He's a little wobbly, but I think walking is in our future. Before the new year?

Sweetness

They really do love each other.

And they love the Christmas tree too. It fascinates them. I hope they are always close. It is my biggest wish for both of them. To always look out for each other...to always be there for one another....

Thanksgiving....

I will always have many memories of traveling to my grandparents for the holidays and enjoying a good ole' fashioned traditional holiday meal. My Mamaw used to think it was so hilarious how I would make my plate of "favorites" and hide it in the laundry room where it was nice and cold for later. Then when I pulled out my plate with the sweet potoato casserole on it that had long been eaten up, everyone would wonder how I got some? She knew how I did it, and we would both just snicker away! It is still my most favorite meal of all time. Check out this spread...

Addie and her cousins had a great time dancing in the living room while everyone watched them put on a show!

Even Daddy got in on all the action.

I'm glad I get to take my kids down there where so many of my childhood memories were made. It is not the easiest thing to travel with two little ones, and although we were exhausted and a little under the weather when we returned, it sure was worth it to be with my family on this special holiday again. I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving with family and friends!

More parade fun...

I told you I bundled them up. Hayes could hardly move! He didn't complain though. He was nice and toasty!

What a fun time with friends! Can we do it again?