Christmas Success!

Well...that's it! After waiting all year it is now the day after Christmas and oh what a Christmas it was! We had such a great turn out at our Christmas party down in Florida and the boys...yeah they made out like bandits [really they did...they are officially spoiled]! Mason being the big man he is now received an iPad [which he is already better at using then I am], the rest of his Skylanders along with some cool new books for us to read at bedtime and of course $$$! Nash made out with some much needed clothes, musical toys, books, a full size train for him to choo-choo around the house on and of course $$$!

We also got in some much needed pictures [by the time I'm done Wesley is going to be a pro at posing]! There is nothing better than a new baby...especially when that baby is my adorable nephew! It was nice to get some photos of the great grandparents with all of their great grand kids too!

Look at how handsome he is...sigh...my man is growing too fast!

Sweet baby Wesley (I'm still working on my plan to steal him)

Great Grandpa Vince & Great Grandma Mert with all their great grand kids (Side note: All three are named after their Great Grandfather)!

We also got to take the boys to Santa's Enchanted Forest on Christmas Eve, it was something I did as a kid when I lived down there so it was nice to take the boys to it. Nash got to look at all the light displays and people watch [being in Miami there were definitely some crazy people watching to do] and Mason got to spend some time with his Uncle Dylan, Grandpa Joie and Gammy Amy riding all the rides and playing the games.

It was a super busy crazy short trip down there...but totally worth the drive! It was nice to spend Christmas with both my family and my husband's family. We are so thankful that both sides of our families [immediate and extended] are so involved in our boy's lives and even though they spoil the hell out of them we truly would not have it any other way!

Cutest butt ever...

Nash...down for the count just as the party was getting started!

Okay...one more just because I am completely obsessed with him!

(Insert Cutest Overload Here)

Wesley!

It is done! Finished up little Wesley's sign for his nursery and hopefully one day for his room. I love it and I hope momma and daddy love it too! I got this great idea from the blog Shanty2Chic [she has some awesome ideas and I have done a few projects from her page].

True Merriment Requires Family!

6 days...that's it...just 6 more days until Christmas! I am so excited for the boys to spend Christmas down in Florida with both my family and my husband's family as well! Mas is getting his much loved Skylanders along with every action figure character that has been produced [he was a really good boy this year]! Nash being so little is getting a nice mixture of noisy, colorful toys along with some $$$ to add to his growing savings account...this kid already has over $350 in savings and he's not even a year old yet [I know some adults who don't have that much in their bank account]! Let the Christmas cheer and merriment with family begin!

Also, busy working on my sister-in-laws homemade gift for little Wesley's nursery [who was born on December 17th, I am officially an AUNT...so ready to spoil this kid]...thanks to Pinterest of course I made this sign for Nash's room. Now that I have worked out the kinks I am going to be making one for my sweet little nephew, he already holds a special place in my heart. I will post a picture of his once it's complete!

With all the craziness going on during the holidays the hubby and I still had to have our date night [sometimes it's just nice to get away from the kids]. This month we planned a date night with a few couples to make it more interesting! I must say my husband is such a good sport, he will pretty much try anything I want to do at least once just because it is something I want to do [that's a damn good husband right there]! So, when I told him that December date night was a BYOB painting class he was all in! Now...my husband is no artist...he complains when he has to paint a wall in our house so I was not expecting to be blown away. But my husband on the other hand had this idea that his painting was going to be so good that we would be displaying it all year [bahaha]! I will let the picture below speak for itself. We did have an awesome time as did the other couples and we will probably do something like this again in the future [I mean how bad could it be when you can bring and drink all the wine you want]! It was also kind of sweet seeing all the husband's getting into it and really trying to paint!

My husband. The only one in the class with a Super Mario themed painting. Our 4 year old loved it!

I must say I love our once a month dates, it is just so nice having something to look forward too...a nice break from the routine! We already have the next couple of months planned out and I am super excited! Here's what we're planning in case you are looking for any ideas...

January - Day Date: Gun Range and Lunch!
February - We are having our family pictures done so to save money there is no date planned for this month. 
March - Eric Clapton Concert!
April - Murder Mystery Dinner!
May - Vacation to Myrtle Beach!
June - Fleetwood Mac Concert!

Yep! I am one lucky girl to have a husband who actually enjoys spending all his time with me.

Christmas Palm!

Christmas palm is up! We weren't going to put it up this year, but now with family stopping through to open presents with the boys, my hubby suggested we go ahead and put it up [I have been on the fence about it for weeks...so there really wasn't much convincing he had to do on his part]! So there it is in all it's Florida inspired glory! White lights, beachy ornaments...a Harris family tradition! No boring old Christmas tree in this house! Now it's really starting to feel like Christmas!

All that's left on the Christmas list is to finish wrapping up all the presents...feels good to have everything ready to go this year [last year being 7 months pregnant and EXHAUSTED, I felt so unorganized]! I am so ridiculously excited about Nash's first Christmas...expect lots and lots and lots of picture!

Side note: Totally unrelated but worth mentioning just on cuteness factor: Mas is still up in Ohio and  does not get back until the 17th but you can totally tell that Nash is missing his brother. This morning as I walked out of our bedroom, I could hear my sweet Nash in his room "talking" and he kept saying "Bubba...bu bu? Bubba, Bubba, Bubba" [aweeeeeee] it is so sweet how much he already loves his big brother!

Date Night - Kids Edition!

Back in November, Mas and I had a "just the two of us" weekend which included a trip to Six Flags and the Disney on Ice show. We went to the Disney show with a good friend [she has three children so...I listen and take all the advise I can get when she gives it!] she was telling me how important it is to set aside specific time to spend with your kids, just one on one. I've been thinking about it...it really is a great idea. With the way our family's schedule is I really don't get as much one on one time as I would like [it is so crazy how fast the evenings go once home from work! Cleaning up, dinner, bath time...before you know it, it's bed time!]. My husband being a fire fighter only works every third day so he has plenty of time with the boys throughout the week...but Mommy...not so much. 

So, I have decided since the monthly date night with the husband is working so well that I will start a monthly mommy/son date night! It will be even better when Nash gets older and I can plan some dates with him. But while Vince works and Mas is visiting his mom, Nash gets his one on one time, so for now I will just plan these with Mas until Nash is old enough to join in on the fun! Already kicking around some ideas for January...of course once Mas gets home I'm going to let him choose from a few options since it is his date night after all! 

So, here's what I've got so far:
-Bowling [he loves to bowl...I think he might like talking trash while bowling even more!]
-Redbox Carpet Picnic [he gets to pick out the movie and take-out for a picnic on the living room floor.]
-Video Game Tournament [set up the rules and even have a prize for the winner.]
-Dinner with Chef Mas [let him plan dinner and then make it together.]
-Broad Game Showdown [let him pick out two board games and then play three rounds of tournaments each.]
-Arts & Craft
-Movie & Popcorn [snuggle in bed watching a movie and eating marshmallow popcorn]

That's what I've got so far...not looking to do things too expensive since I think it's more about our time together then the actually activity [plus the older he gets the more expensive the activities will get anyways] but I think these will be a good start! 

Two date nights a month with two of my favorite boys...can't get much better than that! 

Of course can't post a blog without some current pictures! Here's Mas being a little cowboy at the grandparents house...so handsome!

Newest picture of Nash...it's getting harder and harder to get a picture of him holding still! Now that he's crawling he just doesn't stop!

  

S'more Cookies!

It’s beginning to feel a lot like CHRISTMAS!

Fireplace fully decorated + presents wrapped and stacked + the smell of cinnamon spice candles throughout the house = heaven on earth for me!

We just finished Christmas shopping for the boys and I am beyond excited for them to open up all their presents! We decided this year [since this is the first year Mas has actually asked for a specific gift] that we would only be buying for the kids, but at the last minute I decided that Mommy and Daddy needed to buy each other something as well [don’t judge…I like presents too]!

This is how I know my husband will never cheat on me…he can’t keep a SECRET to save his life! As soon as my gift arrived in the mail he HAD to give it to me…that night…even though I closed my eyes and told him I didn't want it until Christmas…he literally put the unwrapped gift in my lap. So, I got a nice black North Face jacket for Christmas [just what I wanted]! 

You can also not trust my husband to be around a present that he knows is for him…even if it’s wrapped…because chances are more likely than not that once you leave his sight he will be trying to figure out what it is or just downright opening it up! So, I went ahead and let him open up his gift this morning which was a gourmet cast iron cooking set including a Dutch oven and some other cool looking cooking accessories [half of which I have no idea what they’re used for, but he seemed excited so he must know] I did notice that it came with this cool cast iron corn on the cob cooking thingy [we just brought some corn on the cob and I’m kinda craving it…which may have been the real reason why I let him open his gift early]! I have already informed him that I expect some yummy corn on the cob tonight for dinner [like blow my mind good].

So, now that we are officially in December and in full on holiday mode I decided to make some cookies…been eyeing this s‘more cookie recipe and decided to finally give it a try. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 (Box) Graham Crackers

2 Giant Bars of Hershey Milk Chocolate

1 (Bag) Marshmallows

Cinnamon Sugar 

1/2 Cup of Milk

First I broke the graham crackers in half and laid them out on wax paper, then place a marshmallow on each cracker and finally sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on each one. Place in the oven on 400 degrees for 7 minutes [or until you have toasted your marshmallow to your liking]. While that is in the oven I started melting my chocolate, in a sauce pot add 1/2 cup of milk and break apart the Hershey bars, let simmer while melting and stir continuous. Once out of the oven and the marshmallows are toasted up place the other half of the graham cracker on top and squish them down, put in the refrigerator for about 5 minute to harden up [makes them way easier to work with]! Once they've cooled off in the fridge it’s time to dip! I used a fork to scoop out the sandwiches from the chocolate which worked pretty well…then Nash started fussing so to speed things up I just started dipping half the graham cracker in chocolate [I know that’s a half ass s’more cookie, but when the baby calls…] no biggie though cuz whether their smothered completely in chocolate or only half in chocolate it is still damn delicious! I tried to be festive and sprinkled some red and green sprinkles on top…but you could barely see them…so that was a fail, but the cookies were a success! There may be a better way to do this, but I have yet to figure it out…all I know is it is graham cracker, marshmallow, cinnamon and chocolate…can you really go wrong??? I think not.