Holiday wrap up and something new!

What a wonderful Christmas!  My kids went almost an entire day without fighting!!  Hope yours was just as good!   Here's a quick recap of our past week or so.

Christmas Eve Eve:  We loaded up the kids, stopped for some hot cocoa and cookies, and headed to see the Lights in the Park.  We attempted this originally on Saturday night, but after sitting in traffic for 30 minutes and still being a few miles away from Washington Park, we turned around and came home.  Tuesday night is a MUCH better time to go!

Christmas Eve:
The hubs got out of work early and we headed out to my parent's house to celebrate Christmas.  We had a delicious Italian dinner and lots of fun opening presents.  We also took a few selfies. :)
We got home around 9:00 pm and tried to send the kids right to bed.  Well, it worked with Alec, but Nick was up until about 10:00 because he was so excited.  He finally fell asleep and Santa was able to do his work.  Then, at approximately 2am, I heard the prancing and pawing of 2 little hoofs.  I was hoping it was Rudolph, but no; it was Nick.  He couldn't sleep.  He was too excited.  I laid in his bed with him for the NEXT 3 HOURS until he finally dozed off.  Then he was up again at 7:30.  Yes, I was one tired mama!!!

Xmas eve with my parents

Love their faces!!

Christmas Day:
Up at 7:30am.  Kids tore open their gifts.  Mama threw a breakfast casserole in the oven and had herself a mimosa.  :)  When the kids were occupied with their new toys, the hubs and I opened our gifts.  Then it was time to get down to some serious Lego building.  We spent the day playing, relaxing, and eating.  It was truly a lovely day!

Taking it all in...

He LOVES this Agent Oso doll!

Opening his light saber

Friday was pretty quiet, other than Nick and Alec chasing each other around the house and Nick screaming when Alec would touch one of his toys.  And Alec screaming when Nick would touch one of his toys.  Basically, a typical day around here :)  After several time-outs, we decided to get out of the house and run some errands (i.e. Sams Club run and the hubs finishing his Christmas shopping for his family we would see the next day).

Saturday we headed north to spend the day with the in-laws.  There was lunch, presents and some dress up. Then it was off to visit my husband's grandparents.  My husband's grandparents live about 25 minutes from Lake Placid.  On our way home from their house, we took the scenic route and had some gorgeous views of the high peaks.  Did I mention the hubs wants me to hike the high peaks with him?  Apparently there are 46 high peaks in the Adirondack mountains and if you hike all 46, you become part of the 46er club (or something like that).  Anyway, after seeing the mountains a little more close up, I decided there is NO WAY I am ever hiking those mountains!!  My legs hurt going up 3 flights of stairs at work.  Why I ever thought I could hike up a mountain, much less 46 of them, is beyond me!!

Alec with Great Grandpa Bill

Sunday was Alec's 2nd birthday!  I can't believe my little baby is already two!!  I may have shed a little tear.  We had a small party for him at home, complete with a Bob the Builder cake!

Starting off the day with a birthday donut :)

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Yum!!

And then there's today.  After 6 days of wonderful, glorious vacation, back to work I went.  And did I mention that today is my birthday?  Well it is!  It actually was a pretty good day at work.  It was pretty quiet around the office, and a few friends and I went out for a nice birthday lunch.  Then when I got home, the hubs had gotten me take out from my favorite Italian place and a yummy little cake.  He also gave me a gift card to my favorite spa which I cannot wait to use!!!!

My card from the boys....love it!!!!  

So there you have it!  My brief (or not so brief?) recap of the last week.  Oh- and did you notice anything different going on here???  Like maybe my new blog design??  I finally decided to give this little blog some attention and make some updates.  AND... I am finally on Instagram and I would love for you to follow me there!!  http://instagram.com/518nymammaof2/

So tell me, how was your holiday?  And what do you think of the new blog layout?

Friday Favorites- A little late to the party!

Last night I was out late with my friend Amy and just didn't get around to my Friday favorites post! We went out to a delicious dinner at Johnny's Italian Restaurant and then headed over to Proctors Theatre for the Melodies of Christmas.  Such a festive night and by the way, the net proceeds from the show benefit the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Albany Medical Center.  There are performances throughout the weekend, so if you happen to be in the Albany/Schenectady area, check it out!!  It's a great show and supports an even greater cause!

OK, now on to my favorites of the week!

1.  Etsy gifts!
I did a LOT of Christmas shopping on Etsy this year.  I love all the unique and handmade items you can find, and I love supporting a PERSON rather than a store.  One of my new favorite shops is MyRusticHeart.  She makes these gorgeous wood slice ornaments.  I ordered the ones below for some special friends.

2.  Elf on the Shelf craziness
If you are a boy mom, you will understand why I did this.  If you are not, you may think I am crazy and weird.  But honestly, Nick thought this was HILARIOUS (and so did my husband).
Disclaimer:  I have to put our Elf out of Alec's reach, otherwise who knows what will happen to him! I had originally planned to put the Elf in the bathroom for this particular activity, however he could easily have been reached and flushed down the toilet.  So.... that is why our Elf is going #2 on our kitchen counter.  :)

3. Taylor Swift Blank Space Parody
Have you seen this yet????  Oh my gosh, HILARIOUS!!  I have watched this at least 50 times in the past 3 days.  Honestly, if you are a mom with young kids you MUST watch this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FrBS2pPcak

4.  Starbucks Eggnog latte
I love Starbucks.  I love eggnog.   I love lattes.  How did I not try this before????  Sooo good.  Just like warm eggnog with a hint of coffee.

5. Crafting with my boy
Nick used to HATE crafting.  No crafts, no coloring, no art.  Well, I'm not sure what happened but now he LOVES doing crafts!  AND coloring!  He has been busy making all sorts of Christmas decorations this week.  I just love it!!

Well there you have it!  My Friday favorites, albeit a little late!  I am looking forward to a fun weekend.  Tonight we'll be having a family movie night and watching The Polar Express, tomorrow night is Lights in the Park, and Sunday is brunch with Santa!  And maybe, just maybe, I will make some Christmas cookies!  What are you all doing this weekend??

Linking up with:
Andrea at Momfessionals
Five on Friday

Just a little Christmas quiz to distract me from wrapping presents....

I had every intention of coming home tonight and wrapping some gifts.  Well, it's now 9:10 PM and instead of wrapping gifts I have been busy catching up on my favorite blogs and trying to get some Jamberry parties booked for January and February (anyone interested??  They're totally on line!).  Oops.  Well, there are still 9 days until Christmas, right?!

I saw this cute little holiday Q&A on a friend's blog so I thought I would join in on the fun!  Feel free to join in too!

What's your favorite Christmas movie?  Toss up between Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story.  And YES, I do watch the 24 hour Christmas Story marathon!  I also love Just Friends, although I don't know if that is technically considered a Christmas movie.

Colored or white lights?  I go back and forth on this one.  For my own house, I generally like white lights, however I love seeing colored lights on other people's houses.  This year I did mix it up a little and added some multi color.  We even did a multi colored tree and I am LOVING it!

Favorite Christmas food?   Hmmm.  This is a hard one.  I guess I would have to say cheesecake.  But I really like cheesecake any time of year!

Yes please!!!

Live tree or artificial?  For many years now we have done artificial but this year I wanted to try a real tree.  The jury is still out.  I love the smell but hate the needles all over the floor.

Santa or no Santa?  Heck yeah!

Favorite holiday tradition?  Hmmm.  Again a tough one.  My favorite tradition from the past was going to my Grandmother's house on Christmas morning.   We would have a huge breakfast, then all gather around the tree to open presents.  The tree was always so pretty and there were so many presents underneath!  Currently, as a family of 4, we are making new traditions.  Some of my favorite NEW traditions are going to our town's Christmas parade (which unfortunately we missed this year), putting out reindeer food on Christmas eve, and just started this year (but sure to become an annual tradition!!), the North Pole Breakfast welcoming John the Elf!!

When do you decorate for Christmas?  Usually the weekend after Thanksgiving

Favorite Christmas cookie?  Straight up sugar with frosting!!

Favorite Christmas song?  O Holy Night.  There is nothing more beautiful than hearing this song sung by a huge church choir.

Favorite Christmas story?  Twas the Night Before Christmas

Least Favorite Christmas tradition?  I'm not sure if this is a "tradition" but I really dislike wrapping presents.  Which is funny, because when I was younger, I loved wrapping presents!

Ok- now it's your turn!!  Tell me some (or all) of your answers in the comments!!!!

Jamberry end of the year special!!!

Good morning friends!
Just a quick Jamberry related post this morning to let you know about a special I am running.
Although Christmas delivery is no longer guaranteed, you CAN still order some gorgeous wraps for New Years Eve!  As a thank you to anyone who orders through the end of the year, I am offering a FREE sheet of accent nails for ANY size order placed!  And...any order $90 or over will receive a FREE PLUM APPLICATION KIT!!
Just go to www.onlinejamswithkim.jamberrynails.net to place your order!  Don't forget- wraps are Buy 3 Get 1 Free!
Thanks friends!!

Friday Favorites- 2 weeks till what????

As I write this post tonight, I seriously cannot believe Christmas is 2 WEEKS AWAY!!  Yikes!  We got somewhere between 6 and 8 inches of snow here over the past 2 days and I am sooo happy!  I love snow.  Absolutely love it (especially at Christmas time).  The tree branches are literally drenched in snow and the Christmas lights look so beautiful peeking out from underneath it all.  I just hope it doesn't melt away before Christmas!

OK- on to my favorites of the week!

Number 1:  Crayon Wreath
Is this not the cutest, most perfect teacher gift you've ever seen??  I cannot wait to give it to our daycare provider at their Christmas party on Sunday.  You can find your own at Majestic Silk Flowers on Etsy.

2.  Christmas Cheer Exchange
The lovely Rachel at Floral and Fudge co-hosted a Christmas Cheer exchange!  Basically, you got to send a package of Christmas Cheer to another blogger and receive one yourself (with a $10 limit).  I had so much fun putting together a box for Tiffany over at Terry's go round!!!  Check out her blog and her Christmas cheer post if you would like to see what I put in her box. Cortney at Our Fishy Family sent me my cheer box and I got some great stuff!

3.  Christmas Jams!
This is my absolute favorite Jamberry combo yet!!!  Peppermint Patty with the November hostess exclusive.  I want to wear this year round!!

4. Christmas Card!!!
This week I sent out our beautiful Christmas cards.  Thank you so much to Andrea (you know- the host of this link up!) for designing my Christmas card this year!  I LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!!

5.  Favorite Picture
Over the weekend while hubby was out of town hunting, the boys and I were looking for things to do. Nick asked me to wrap him in toilet paper like a mummy and to his surprise (and mine) I agreed. This was the outcome.  It was probably the highlight of our weekend!!

I hope you all have a GREAT weekend!  What's on tap for you?  Any Christmas themed activities?  Hubs and I have a kid free night on Saturday so we plan on finishing Christmas shopping, going out to dinner, and maybe even a movie!

Linking up with:
Andrea
Five on Friday
The Diary of a Real Housewife
Big Christmas Link Party

Christmas Cheer Exchange!

This post is one I have been SO excited to write!!  It's time to reveal my Christmas Cheer box!!  I love Christmas cheer, I love mail, and of course I love giving and receiving gifts, so when I saw Rachel from Floral and Fudge was going to do a Christmas cheer exchange, I signed right up!!!  I don't know if I was more excited to GIVE a box of cheer or RECEIVE one, but what I do know for sure is I had a blast with this exchange!

Here's a peek into the Cheer Box I received from Cortney from Our Fishy Family....

Seriously, how cute are these socks!

A girl can never have enough nail polish!

Sooo looking forward to trying this!!

This smells so good!!

Thank you to Astleigh, Rachel and Kaitlin for organizing the Cheer Exchange! This was so much fun and I can't wait until the next one (maybe a Valentine's day exchange??)!!!