christmas!

So it's Christmas morning and I'm posting from Joey's new phone. Will post more later because this keyboard is really cramped. Everyone loved their gifts so far. going over to Sean's mom's in a bit. Matt was good until he got tired, but that was expected. Okay, hope everyone elses Christmas is going well! Merry Christmas!

Matt's 1st Birthday Party!

I've been really tired/burned out lately and not feeling like blogging, but since we did have Matt's party this last saturday, I figured it wouldn't be fair to the people who didn't go if I didn't post some pictures.
We had lots of fun and he got a ton of awesome gifts. He got a lot of super cute clothing, some books, a push-along popper/mower, stacking rings, a piano/xylophone, light-up maracas, some dishes and of course, a cake.


Here is him and his Grammy Brenda, complete with party hat!

Him having TONS of fun on the ride :-P Can't you see how thrilled he is?

Here's him unwrapping some of his gifts.

Yay! Dishes! Food...mmmm....

Him with two toys he LOVES! He really likes the piano.
After we were done unwrapping gifts, it was cake time! This was not the time I expected him to have his expected meltdown, but it's pretty funny. Here, for your viewing enjoyment:

But don't worry about him. Here he is two minutes later:



Ooo, Intro To Fingerpainting...

Here's some of us, from the right: Sean, Matt, me, Jana, Stephanie, Josh (her husband), Jody and her 11-month old Kaelyn.

All in all it was very fun and he had a wonderful time. Brenda and Andy's visit went well and I miss them lots already! Hopefully I'll be able to wisely use my vacation next year to do plenty of family visits.
I hope everyone is having fun with the holidays, and I'd like to say I'll post soon but apparently that isn't as true as I'd like it to be, so I'll post as soon as I feel up to it! Enjoy the pictures!

Yay!

Yay! I've finally finished the Christmas shopping! I got gifts I know everyone will love, and now I am all done two weeks beforehand! Just have to send out Aunt Hillary's box and everything will be good to go! Well, Sean hasn't shopped for me yet and he probably won't until Christmas Eve (if at all), but oh well. That's just how he is. He needs someone to yell at him to go shopping (that person was Joey last year), and I'm not going to bug him to shop for my gifts! Don't really need anything anyway. Anyway...I am super excited! Now I can spend my nights sipping tea and enjoying the brief seasonal "cold". Ah...
Oh by the way, those of whom I am sending stuff in the mail to, I did do the obligatory Christmas photos, so they're included. Since I am cheap and don't feel like paying a bunch of money to get professional pics done, I did them at home! Luckily Matthew is pretty photogenic.
Okay, going to go to sleep now!! Have a good night, everyone!

Christmas Is Evil

Blah...haven't been posting because I've been distracted by shopping for Christmas and pretending like my credit card charges are being magically whisked away by the angels that decorate every store. Lalala...
No, it's not that bad, just stressful! But I am almost done. Just have Andy's and my brother-in-law's gift left. By the way, my awful address book program magically decided to forget I ever used it and entered a ton of addresses into it, so if these following people (or if you know) could send me their addresses, that would be wonderful :-):

Karen Miller
Dennis Schafer
Hillary Holloway
Dawn Holloway
Brenda Holloway
(jeez you Holloways!)

And anyone else I should be sending cards and stuff to. I don't need Brenda's or my mom's because they are coming to visit, and I know Grandma Schafer's by heart. Don't ask me why, but I do.
Oh and if anyone has any good "Secret Santa" ideas, let me know please because I am way too burned out too even TRY to think of innovative cheap gift ideas for a girl at work.
So...I am also going to be taking Matt's "good" Christmas photos soon, with my homemade portrait studio. Tablecloth...check. Tacks...check. Stool...check. Embarrassing old man sweater vest outfit for Matt...check. Excellent!
I also personalized some of the gifts for certain people...I hope they enjoy! They are drying on my bed now and I am hoping to God Sean doesn't come home soon.
Yes, I am rambling. But it will all be better on Christmas! (Not after, because then the bills come...eek!)
Ooo and I got these awesome shoes for Matthew! Aunt Hillary sent me an e-mail about them, and they are called Robeez. They are soft-soled leather shoes for walking babies and toddlers. They're much better than regular sneakers because they allow the kid to feel the ground with his feet but still be protected. Matt finds it very difficult to walk in sneakers. Now he is okay at it, but still trips over his own feet all the time if he is tired. (Which leads to crying, then temper tantrums, then slamming his face on the ground, twisting from my grasp, and eye rubbing). So since I can't afford the brand name ones right now, I got the generic ones from Target. Just one pair. But he loves them! And I do too. They got really dirty from the mud (yes, it rained!) and I just rinsed them off under soapy water and now they're all clean and almost dry.
So anyway, speaking of mud and water and extremely large puddles...
It also rained last weekend. And that was awesome! I loved driving through the puddles, and walking in the rain.
Alas, I forgot I did not have a normal durable car, but a Kia Rio Real Steal Deal.
Yes...the one that requires me to turn off the a/c (press my turbo button as I prefer to call it) if I need to accelerate. Or listen to the radio.
And I think it has driven through it's last puddle. On saturday, I had Sean and Matthew in the car, and there was a huge puddle looming ahead.
"Don't drive through that puddle, Ally." Said Sean.
"Why? I drove through a ton yesterday!" Drives through said puddle with glee.
Car has difficulty pushing through but succeeds.
Ten seconds later, the car makes a very strange noise (a sigh of defeat?) and begins to idle extremely rough and accelerates very slowly.
The check engine light flashes on...
And I laugh. Of course.
Turns out it's a misfiring cylinder caused by some sort of vacuum leak.
Guess I'll have to drag out the duct tape.
So I'll post later, hopefully sooner this time!
Merry Christmas!