Other than the hair cut, not much else is new.  Last week ended on bad terms and this week is not looking too promising either.  My step-mother’s father passed away and while I have not seen the man in years, he is one of the few good memories I have of visiting with my Dad and step-mother.  To top it all off, I then call over to Granny’s to see if she can watch E & A during the funeral services, only to find out that Jeff’s Great-Uncle passed away on Thursday evening from a tragic farming accident.  Friday was just a horrible day overall.

Friday night proved to be a little more uplifting than Friday morning.  I spent the evening with three really good friends and their neighbor, sipping cocktails around a bonfire.  Luckily, I have an amazing babysitter.  She stayed over night with the kids while I enjoyed myself for the first time in ages.  Last night I spent a couple of hours with the same group of friends, plus an extra (and his daughter).  We had a couple of drinks, several laughs and an overall good time.  It was a good way to end a hellish week and to kick off the start of another hellish week.

Superbowl Sunday is this weekend and in our family, it is sort of a big deal.  Family and friends pour into one family room, munching away on snacks and begin yelling cheering at the television.  I am not a big football fan myself, but I do enjoy watching the Superbowl.  The ads are almost always hilarious and the halftime show is usually fairly entertaining.  Superbowl Sunday is a win-win celebration for everyone.

Today, I will begin preparation for our Superbowl get together.  I will be heading to Walmart, complete with their Game Time shopping list (plus/minus a few items).   Tomorrow I will do a good deep cleaning and then Sunday will be the big day.  Walmart is ensuring  that us ladies can provide game-time snacks for the ultimate SuperBowl XLIV celebration by coming up with a party menu for as low as $44!  If I were not a regular Walmart shopper, you can bet I’d think they were off their rocker, but it is true.  For $44 you can purchase game-time snacks for eight including: one package of Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs, one package of Johnsonville Bratwursts, two packages of Great Value Hot Dog Buns, two boxes of T.G.I Friday’s Frozen Appetizers, one Hormel Supreme Party Tray, a 12? Chocolate Chunk cookie and two boxes of Nabisco Wheat Thins or Triscuit Crackers.  Such a steal!

And here’s where my excitement truly begins.. I have teamed up with Mom Central to offer one of my readers the opportunity to win a $50 gift card.  For your chance to win, follow the rules listed below.
Rules

1.) Leave us a comment telling me about your Superbowl Sunday plans.

Additional Entries

2.) Subscribe to gishers.org via email or by a reader.

3.) Follow @gishers on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway, commenting with the link.

4.) Post about this giveaway on your blog, linking to alight.com and leave a comment here linking back to your post.

Contest ends: February 10, 2009 @ Midnight EST.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Walmart. In addition, I received a Walmart gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate and one to offer as a giveaway.”

On Christmas morning, Ethan and I “sneaked” (as he says) up the stairs to see whether Santa had brought him presents. He was content waiting until his sister woke up to open presents that morning. And patient he was– Addison did not wake up until nearly 10:00am on Christmas morning!

Ethan tore into his presents, while Addison carried hers all around the upstairs. I believe she only ripped open one package on her own.  We eventually chipped in to her help her out.

Ethan was most excited about opening the kids’ new kitchen play set. The expression on his face was priceless as he squealed “Sissssssssssssy! We got a kitchen! WE HAVE A KITCHEN!” Addison on the other hand, was more interested in this:

In fact, a good portion of our week has been dedicated to Christmas-time fun. Monday afternoon, while our power was out, we went down to Granny’s where Ethan helped bake and decorate a ton of sugar cookies. After spending the day with Granny, we came home to bake even more cookies. Today we spent the afternoon making Christmas cupcakes and the evening wrapping presents.

I wanted to take pictures of our present storing room, but cannot find the tool we use to unlock the door. We had to lock the door because my little snoop of a son wanted to dive into a couple of presents earlier when he caught me going in there. And despite having so much already accomplished, I still have so much to do. I need to finish wrapping some of Ethan and Addison’s presents– we bought them both promotional umbrellas for the upcoming rainy season (you know, in 5  months), stocking stuffers, miscellaneous toys/clothing and a few last minute items that finally came via UPS and USPS this afternoon.  I am so excited about Christmas this year.. and am looking forward to seeing more of our family!

It is that time of the year again– the time for lights, trees and more cookies and candies than one person should legally be allowed to eat.  Our house is no exception, as we have been readily preparing ourselves for Christmas since Thanksgiving.  Each year we decorate a tree and maybe hang a few other pieces of decor around the house, but this year?  We decided to go a little more “out” of our way to celebrate the season.  Both Ethan and Addison are loving every last bit of the holiday cheer floating through the house.  Ethan has been helping me bake cookies, while Addison has been helping un-decorate our tree.

Ethan’s “favorite” part of our Christmas decor. He begged me to show y’all.

Our fireplace & stockings!

My scrawny little tree that stands next to our fireplace.

Sorry for the lack of quality in these photographs.. I am still learning how to use the new camera. Ethan is so excited about Christmas this year. He helped me put decorations up all around the house, decorate the tree and has been helping make bake holiday treats. I look forward to sharing more pictures with you as we take them!