No Pug Left Behind

Any of you who know me, know that I just couldn't leave my Gracie without a present under the Christmas tree! As soon as I put it out, she couldn't stop sniffing and sniffing. She knew it was for her. I had gotten her a rawhide "turkey leg" wrapped in real chicken. It was 5-6 inches in length.
If you look closely, you can see two more very large ones on either side of her tail. Those were both a foot long and were for Roxie and Ryleigh. They were massive! I couldn't stop laughing while I watched them try to get their jaws around those things. It was a very merry Christmas for the dogs at our house!
Gracie was delightfully occupied while we opened the remaining gifts.

The day after Christmas, I painted my toenails and decided Gracie could use a pet-icure (alright, that one was painful), so...

TAG! I'm it!

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, for sure! It's more fun to tear into a wrapped box!

Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. I love real trees and the way they smell, but my husband is a clean-aholic and would panic at the first sign of needle-loss! :)

When do you put up the tree? Oh dear, it varies widely from year to year, but this year we did great! We got it up shortly after Thanksgiving!

Do you like eggnog? I have to be in the mood and I usually have to "water" it down with milk. Though, the Viva Light Eggnog isn't too bad.

Favorite gift received as a child? I don't know if I ever had ONE favorite thing, but I do remember being so excited about a spring-powered "rocking" horse, a purple and blue ladybug toy that had a hidden little creature inside her wings and you had to open it with a key. I know there were tons more, but I'm having trouble remembering!

Easiest person to buy for? Eric or my littlest sister, Shelley. They are both very good about letting you know exactly what they want. :)

Hardest person to buy for? My husband and my dad. They usually just go get whatever it is they want or need, so it leaves my options a little depleted!

Do you have a nativity scene? No...mostly because the one I would love to have is a wee-bit pricey. It's the Willow Tree set and it's sooo beautiful!

Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. I love receiving them, too!

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Well, they weren't bad at all, but at the time I was not pleased...my parents got my sister and I a bunch of the same things only mine was all purple and her's were all pink. And I really wanted the pink stuff. :)

Favorite Christmas Movie? I don't see how you can have just one! I love A Christmas Story, The Grinch That Stole Christmas, Elf, The Toy That Saved Christmas, Polar Express...almost all of them 'cause they just get you in a festive mood!

When do you start shopping for Christmas? Well, ever since I had Eric, who's birthday is Dec. 1, I've started earlier than I used to. I get somethings for his birthday and some things for Christmas. I just have a hard time remembering what I got sometimes!

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't believe so. I did that once with a wedding gift, but I can't say I remember doing that with a Christmas gift.

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies, fudge, warm drinks, turkey, candy canes...the list goes on and on.

Lights on the tree? But of course: beautiful white lights!

Favorite Christmas song? Santa Baby, Light a Candle, Sleigh Ride, White Christmas...

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Well, we open our presents and do our Christmas-y things and then we "travel" 20 miles to my parents' house!

Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? I believe so!

Angel on the tree top or a star? Either, but there is a star on ours.

Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Stockings on Christmas Eve, presents on Christmas morning.

Most annoying thing about this time of year? I agree with Lacy: when people insist on calling it "X-mas" instead of CHRISTmas. And when people give just for the sake of giving, with no real heart or thought put into it. It can really suck the special-ness right out of this time of year! I also wish Santa wasn't on every channel! We don't get gifts because of Santa; we get/give gifts because the Lord gave us THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL: HIS SON, JESUS!

Favorite ornament theme or color? Probably the ones on our tree: red, gold, & cream colors; large artificial poinsettas in those same colors are all over it with small matching balls.

Favorite time for Christmas dinner? Whenever everyone is together and ready for some fun fellowship around the table!

What do you want for Christmas this year? Hmmm...not too sure. Wouldn't mind a few tans from Sunsations to warm up! :)

*Now, it's your turn! I tag LoriAnn, Macey, Alycia, Julie, Amy, and Sarah!

Oh, The Weather Outside Is...DELIGHTFUL

We awoke this morning to a glorious winter wonderland. And it hasn't stopped snowing all day. With the wind we've been having the last little while, I was expecting an arctic tundra, but it wasn't!
After lunch, I bundled up my 2 little ones (Eric & Gracie) and we made it our personal mission to destroy the pristine landscape we had woken up to. I had to embrace the mission simply due to the alternative: trying to keep a 3 yr. old little boy and a one year-old pug out of it. Yeah right.
And we were wildly successful with our destruction. The snow was deep enough to provide a pleasantly-fatiguing challenge for Eric and a hilarious obstacle for Gracie! Poor little thing thinks she's a Great Dane, but her 8 inch legs tell her otherwise.

Eric had a wonderful time falling down while receiving minor injuries, thanks to the cold cushion the Lord was providing for us! He got to make his first snow angel ever (and Gracie "decorated" it with tiny little footprints). We also got the fantastic experience of seeing the individual snowflakes land on our gloves! They were so beautiful! And they reminded me of Who-Ville! Gracie was less interested in each individual flake than she was in eating mouthfuls at a time.
After our mission was complete, I asked Eric if he wanted to eat some of the snow. His eyes got wide and offered an enthusiastic "Yeah!" So I filled a couple bowls with snow and sprinkled Tang over the top. Eric loved it and I hadn't had it for years, so it was really quite a treat. Shortly after, Gracie took her place by the heater vent and Eric went down for a nap.

Officially 3

As I was preparing to write a different post, I realized I captured Eric's birthday party, but that I had forgotten his birthday morning.
As you can see from his hair, attire and sleepy face, this was immediately after he had gotten out of bed. I wished him a big "Happy Birthday!" and it clicked: "I can finally open those presents I saw earlier!"
So, I got him to sit still for a second and then let him have at them...

We both agreed he did pretty good. Turning 3 is easier than he thought...
Not so much for Mom, though.

Assignment: MOM

What was fun about this one (besides it being for my parents) was the fact that my mom wasn't sure she even wanted to send Christmas cards...until she saw this. Like me, she had looked around at all the pre-made options, but none fit her needs. So, she told me which 3 pictures she wanted to use and let me take a shot at it.
My mom has a distinct style and I wanted it to come through in the cards. Apparently, I did a really great job. Thanks, Mom!

All images Copyright 2008 J Designs. All rights reserved.

A Year-End Trip to the State of Denial

Thanks to my brain's ability to conjur up crystal-clear pictures of an 8 lb. baby boy sleeping peacefully with a large pacifier in his pouty mouth, visually balanced by his little bottom pleasantly perched atop his (not so) tiny feet, I'm having an alarmingly difficult time embracing the fact that I now own a 3 year old. :) And I use the word "own" in the most loving way possible.
We just celebrated Eric's big day on the 1st with his very first birthday party. It was a raving success, if I do say so myself. He's actually had time to make friends and to anticipate his big day and understand it all, so we did it all!
I reserved Hop 2 It in the evening, ordered pizza and cake, and invited family and friends! We did the technicalities (pizza, cake, & presents) as quickly as possible so the kids could have maximum playing time and everyone was ok with that. It turned out to be almost 2 solid hours of non-stop bouncing, sliding, running, sprawling, and just plain goofing off!

Everyone's here!

The infamous cake!

Look at those 3-yr-old muscles!

Ball Pit...enough said. :)

He could go down this slide at 100 mph and it still wouldn't be fast enough!

The gifts from awesome friends & family!



P.S. Just a side note, but very note-worthy: Eric decided to get into the whole potty-training thing full-force about a month ago and is the proud owner of some very macho "big boy" underwear (which he is weaing in all the above shots). I'm so proud of him!