Show Me Your Christmas...Week 4 (Christmas Recap)

This is the final week of the link up, and it's all about how our Christmas's went. So to start off, my Dad stopped by the week before Christmas and dropped of my sister's gifts, and Jasper's gift. Along with a gift to Jasper from my aunt and uncle. I let Jasper open the one from my aunt and uncle, because she gave all the other great-grandchildren theirs at the Christmas party. Well after that Jasper wanted to get the presents from under the tree, and one of them was my dad's. So I was a naughty mommy and I let him open it, because to be honest I was curious to see what it was. It turned out to be THE cutest pair of puppy slippers I have ever seen!

On Christmas Eve, we spent most of the day at Jason's parent's house. At 6:00 pm we all went over to Jason's Grandma's house for dinner, and all of the kids opened their Christmas pajamas. Then we went back to his parent's house to get Jasper's toy box, and then we went home. We got Jasper to bed, and then Santa got busy! ;)

Christmas morning I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep (I know, I'm just as bad as a little kid) So I just laid in bed for about an hour, and then Jasper woke up, and then we woke Jason up. But we still had to stay in the bedroom for another hour, because we had to wait for Grandma, Grandpa, Krystal and the kids to get here.

As soon as they got here, Kaleb wanted to play with Jasper's toys, and Jasper wasn't even able to see what he got before anyone else, because Kaleb was standing in his way haha. But as soon as Jasper got sight of his 4-wheeler, that was all he wanted to play with, so we had to hide it. We got to opening presents, and Jasper got really bored, so Jason and I opened our gifts and let him play. We saved the ones he didn't open, for him to open at my mom's house.

Among the gifts we got...Jasper got a toy box, a 4-wheeler, a tool workhorse, a bunch of clothes and pajamas, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD's, a dual sided whiteboard/blackboard with dry erase crayons, a camping chair, shoes, a couple books, mickey mouse silverware and sippy cups, bubble bath, a mickey mouse flip phone, two little monster trucks, and a box of animal crackers.

Jason got, a little shovel for the Jeep, a spotlight, a pair of socks, a couple pairs of workpants, 6 things of bullets, a little flashlight for work and an MP3 player.

I got a few pairs of pants, a shirt, some makeup brushes, a cute little wall hanging, some pajama pants, jewelry, perfume, and earrings. And then the best gift we got this year, was a new camera, I am SO happy, we have not had one since before Jasper's birthday, and I have been dying without one!

Then we went to Jason's brother's house to see what they all got, and while we were there, we were able to open a present! I got a blender YAY!!! :) Then it was off to his sister Jenny's house to see what they all got. While we were there, Jasper got to open his gift from Jason's sister Krystal, and he loved it! (but he picked it out, so of course he loved it lol)

After Jenny's house we went to Jason's parent's house, where everyone got to open something. They started with the youngest first, and so that meant Jasper was the first to open his presents. He got a little orange truck, a "scary looking" red monster truck, and a touch and feel, lift a flap book, that is the cutest thing ever! I got 2 shirts, and a cute family tree thing, and Jason got a spotting scope and a couple pairs of socks (he loves new socks)

After we were all done there, we headed to Jason's Grandma's house, where once again, every one got to open a gift. Jasper got a little laptop that looks like a bear, I got some nail polish, and Jason got some more socks! ;) Then we were all done in Sanpete county, and it was time to head to Tooele, to see my Mom and everyone!

When we got to my mom's house, we started with the youngest giving to the youngest. So Devon gave Jasper his gift first and she gave him a big semi truck, kind of like Papa Les drives. Then it was Kamie's turn to give to him, and she gave him a toy remote, and a zoo truck. Then Deseree gave him her gifts, which were a shirt that said "Carhartt Tough" on it, and a couple packages of batteries, and a huge remote controlled rock crawler! Finally Nana and Papa Les gave him their gift, which Cooper the Bear, you read a book to him, and he responds to certain phrases in the book!

Jason ended up getting, another pair of socks, a maglite, and 5 things of bullets. I got a package of blank cds, a cook book, a HUGE cd case, and a cute outfit, and Jason and I both got a walmart for our Christmas village.

So that recaps our Christmas (even if I am a few days late), I hope all of you had a wonderful and Merry Christmas too!

Christmas Survey

1- Egg nog or hot chocolate?

Eggnog! Unfortunately I haven't been able to have any this year, but I did make some eggnog bars and they were to die for, almost as good as the drink!

2- Does Santa wrap the presents, or just sit them under the tree?

He does a little bit of both. The big presents he sets out, but the littler ones he wraps and puts under the tree.

3- Colored lights on tree/house or white?

White! Even though my tree has colored lights (which drives me nuts) I prefer white! But our tree was a gift, so I'm not going to complain. 

4- Do you hang mistletoe?

No, I have no need to.

5- When do you put your decorations up?

The week after Thanksgiving!

6- What is your favorite holiday dish?

Probably ham and mashed potatoes and gravy :)

7- Favorite holiday memory as a child?

Going to my Dad's side of the family's Christmas party on Christmas Eve, and then going home an unwrapping all of our presents under the tree. That way we only had to unwrap the ones from Santa in the morning!

8- When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

I was probably 9 and my dad had thought we were asleep, so he had gone and got the presents. Well I wasn't asleep, and I needed to ask him something. So when I went downstairs to find him, he was coming up the stairs from the basement with a big black garbage bag full of presents, and when I said "Dad" he hurried back down the stairs, which made everything even more suspicious. Because he probably could've acted like it was garbage and I would have had no idea!

9- Do you open a gift on Christmas eve?

Yeah, we all go to my husband's grandma's house and open our Christmas pajamas.

10- How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

I just started this last year, but I wrap it with a thick silver ribbon, and then I put green and silver balls all over it. I also have 2 little extra ornaments that I put on. One is a little snowman that we got at my mom's family's Christmas party a couple of years ago, and the other is a picture ornament that I put Jasper picture in, and it says baby's first Christmas.

11- Snow! Love it or dread it?
LOVE it, I really wish we had more than we do now!

12- Can you ice skate?

I got a pair of ice skates when I was younger from my Granny and Papa (they knew I wanted to be an ice skater) and I think my dad took us out on a lake once, but that was so long ago, so I'm not sure how I would be to do it again. But I really do want to try!

13- Do you remember your favorite gift?

A CD player. I know sounds kind of lame, but I absolutely LOVE music, and my mom knew that so she got me one for Christmas and I was so happy  ecstatic! I was probably 12

14- What's the most important thing about the Holiday's to you?

Remembering what it's really about, and spending time with family!

15- What is your favorite holiday dessert?

Cheesecake :)

16- What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Probably opening Christmas pajamas with the whole family

17- What tops your tree?

A star!

18- Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?

Giving, as I've grown older I have been more excited to give than recieve.

19- Candy canes, yuck or yum?

Niether really, they're just ok!

20- Favorite Christmas show?

Christmas Shoes

21- Saddest Christmas song?
Christmas Shoes

22- What is your favorite Christmas song?

Remember Me by Joey + Rory, Christmas Must Be Something More by Taylor Swift, and What Child is This by SHeDAISY (I haven't been able to find another version of this song that I like more than this one)

Show Me Your Christmas...Week 3

This week is traditions. As of now we don't have very many of our own. But as Jasper gets older, I would like to start some that we always did when I was little. So far the first thing we do is get up bright and early the day after Thanksgiving, and go shopping. And this year we got up earlier than we normally do, but it was still so much fun.

I always like to wait until Thanksgiving is over before I start decorating. It's always been a tradition in my family to wait, and I plan on keeping it one in my growing family.

Then I like to make treats, last year all I made were some mint chocolate chip cookies. But this year I made caramels, macadamia nut balls, and eggnog bars (to die for.) As Jasper gets older I want to include him in the baking of the treats, and I hope he really enjoys it.

We have no special tradition with stockings yet, but where Jasper is only 15 months old, I don't want to put too much candy, if any in his stocking. And so therefore I don't really buy candy for my husband's and mine either. But starting next year, I plan on putting an orange in the bottom of the stockings (something my mom has always done), and also a candy cane, and some other goodies. This year he'll just be getting some bubble bath, little monster trucks, sippy cups, a toy flip phone, and a box of animal crackers. Who know maybe I'll even make the animal crackers a tradition. We'll just have to see.

On Christmas Eve, we'll all go to my husband's grandma's house and have dinner, and all the kids will open their Christmas pajamas (I love this tradition) and then everyone will visit, and then go home. Well when I was living at home, my mom would always ring some bells outside, and that would be our cue to go to bed. Because that meant Santa was close. This is something I want to try and do, when Jasper is old enough to understand.

On Christmas morning we'll wake up, open our presents, then go to all my in-laws houses, to see what they got, and to open more presents. And as soon as we're done doing that, we will head up to my mom's house for Christmas dinner, and some family time! I hope your holiday season, can be just as fun and memorable. Merry Christmas!

Show Me Your Christmas...Week 2

These are my inside decorations.

These are our stockings! Jason and I need to upgrade ours, because they need to say Mom and Dad!

This is one of my favorite decorations that I have. I just got it this year, thanks to my sister-in-law!

And finally this is our tree! I'm pretty proud of it :)

I also have a village, but I just haven't had it in me to put it up this year. So that's it, I know there aren't very many, but I love each and every one of them!

A Bit Ridiculous!

In September Jasper had a well child check up. At this time we had no insurance, and were supposed to get a bill for a little over $200. Well here we are 3 months later and still no bill, so naturally I forgot about it.

Well today I went to get the mail, and there was something in the mail for Jason, from blue cross blue shield. I thought maybe it was for Jasper's flu shots. But I was wrong! It was a statement telling me that they had been billed for his well child visit, and that they aren't going to pay for it, because the check up was before he was covered by blue cross blue shield (which makes complete sense)

So what I'm wondering is why the heck did the clinic bill blue cross blue shield, when at the time of his visit we had no insurance. It would have been nice to have had this bill paid before now, but instead, here I am stressing out, wondering when the heck the bill will get here! Oh well, I guess I'll just have to suck it up.

But on a cuter note, yesterday Jasper got a hold of the wipes and this is what happened!

Show Me Your Christmas...Week 1

I found this on a friend's blog, and decided I would give it a shot!

First and foremost I would love to have a house of our own, we are getting so crowded in our little one bedroom apartment. It's time for something bigger!

I would love to have a log frame bed, they are just so pretty, and we definitely could use an upgrade :)

I want new couches SO bad, I was supposed to get some for Mother's Day, but then more important finances got in the way. So here I am still wanting them...

I want a rocking chair recliner, I have wanted one since I was pregnant with Jasper, but there just isn't enough room in our apartment. But I use the one at Jason's parent's house every time I get the chance, and it makes putting Jasper down for a nap 10x easier.

I want a new blender, because due to my stupidity I broke the one I have, and lately I have been wanting to use it, but I can't.

And last but not least, I want a new camera. Because our other one got broke, and so as of now we are using my old, doesn't have much of a battery life camera.

Good Monday

This morning I woke up to my adorable son saying "surprise", which is one of my favorite words that he says! Later on in the day I realized I needed to make a phone call, so I did, but the guy didn't answer so I figured I would just call back later. Well then in the process of making that phone call I realized I needed to make another phone call.

You see about a week ago I got a bill from the clinic for my birth control shot. The amount was $145.00...What!? Yeah I specifically made a point to call my insurance to make sure how much they would cover, and when I did the math I figured I would only have to pay about $60.00, so yeah I was a little confused. I ended up calling up the billing company to set up a payment plan, when I learned that I had been billed the wrong amount (now that makes more sense!) So the lady told me to just discard the $145.00 bill and I would be billed a different amount.

Now Jason is a little bit of a worrier (which can be a good thing, especially in this case) so he told me I should call them back and make sure everything got taken care of. So that's what I did. Well I got on the phone the with the lady and told her what was going on, and that I was just making sure it was all being taken care of, and to my surprise she told me that, today in fact, they recieved payment from my insurance and that I have a balance of $0.00! Talk about make my day!

Day O' Fun

Yesterday we went to Chester to spend some time at Jason's parent's house. When we got there they had Gage and Kaleb over, Jasper really enjoyed that! We had been there for probably a couple of hours, and Anthony came to pick up Gage, and of course Kaleb had to go too. Well then Jasper was acting like he really wanted to go with them. So we bundled him all up (they were going to be on a 4 wheeler) and as soon as he had everything on, he literally ran over to Anthony and grabbed his hand and walked out the door.

Jason and I didn't wait very long before we decided we would head over to their house. And when we got there Jasper was freaking out over a life-size Santa that dances and sings. He hated that thing so much, he wouldn't even play with the boys until we put it in Gage's room and shut the door (out of sight out of mind I guess).

Well in the process of putting Santa away, they started to get out ALL of their nerf dart guns. So then Jason had to get in on the fun. And oh my goodness, saying that there were darts flying all over the place would be an understatement! But they sure had fun, even Jasper! :)

Snow & Groceries

So at the beginning of the week things got a little rocky, and I could have sworn that the week was going to drag on. But here Friday is, and I'm wondering where the week went.

Yesterday I woke up thinking it could be a semi lazy day, and then I realized it was Thursday, which means vacuuming day for me. Which also means the next day is Friday, so that means I get to go grocery shopping and finish up the housework (my busiest day of the week!)

Well knowing that my grocery list wasn't too long, I decided I would get some picture frames for Christmas presents. I get home, get all the groceries put away and start to put pictures in the frames. I get 3 of the 4 frames done and as soon as I go to start on the last one, I realize the glass is cracked! Great! I bought the last 4, and now I can't even use 1 of them. And to top it off this means I have to make a trip back to walmart! But other than that, it has been a pretty good, yet somewhat stressful week. I'm really hoping everything goes really well and that we can get good news on Monday!

And on another note, it is snowing today! I love the snow and I have been longing for it for some time now. Now if only it would stay. What I really want is the big fluffy snow flakes, you know the ones where they are guaranteed to stick to the ground! :)

So hard not to say anything...

Lately there has been a lot going on in our lives that we aren't telling anyone about. Reason being, is because we I am really extremely superstitious when it comes to certain things. I start convincing myself that if I say anything that it won't work out like we we're hoping.

Well this time around it has been so hard for me to not tell at least 1 person. Because if things pan out, then it will be really good for us, and it is so exciting that I want to be able to talk to someone other than my husband about it. But for now I'll keep quiet! :)