I Hate New Years

New Years Eve should be a happy time for me.  That is the night I got engaged to the love of my life; however, in 2008 my world got flipped upside down.  If you follow my blog, then you know that is the year I lost my first son, Parker.  I was numb for a long time.  I could function, but I don't think I could fully comprehend what had happened until months later.  Unfortunately, it hit me on New Years and it has never been the same. 
On December 31, 2008 we invited some friends to join us for my brother in law's New Years Eve party.  It was supposed to be a fun night.  They had a new baby boy that was only a week younger than Mia.  They decided to carpool to the party with us.  That's when it hit me.  When I saw the carseats together--like they had been before the babies were born--I lost it.  To make matters worse, both babies were crying.  All I could think was...they should be my babies crying.  Not mine and someone else's.  That is the moment that my world came crashing down. The rush of emotions hit me like a freight train.  When the clock struck midnight, everyone cheered and kissed and I burst into tears.  That time will now forever signify to me....another year without my son.  Another year without my precious baby. 
As you are celebrating with your loved ones this year, I ask that you take a minute to just be thankful.  Be thankful they are here to celebrate with you.  Hug them a little tighter.  And maybe....just take a second to send up a prayer for those of us who are still mourning that we cannot celebrate with everyone that we love.  Not just me...but those families in CT, and families whose children are in the hospital suffering...or whoever you may know personally. 
Be safe and have a Happy New Year

My Top 12 Favorite Apps

Since I have only had my Iphone for a year, I thought it would be fitting that I do a post about my top 12 favorite apps for 2012. 
1.  Facebook (obviously)
2.  Instagram (follow me at kfnahas)
3.  Cozi (use this weekly for grocery lists, to do lists, etc.)
4. Kindle  (love reading on my phone)
5.  Pinterest (follow me at kfnahas)
6.  Starbucks (am I the only one who didn't know you could earn free drinks and load your giftcards online???)
7.  Postal Pix (order your favorite pics from your phone and have them delivered to your house).
8.  Diptic (picture collages)
9.  Amazon (I am addicted to online shopping and amazon is one of my favorites)
10.  I heart Radio
11.  Level Up (you can pay at some places -charges your credit card and you can earn money back).
12.  Park Mobile - (Great for DC parking--you don't have to run outside to pay the meter every 2 hours).

What are your favorite apps?

Top 12 Books I've read in 2012

I always love to read other peoples top 10 (or top whatever) lists.  The end of the year is the perfect time to make my own.  With that said, here are my top 12 favorite books from 2012 (in no particular order).

1.  Same Kind of Different as me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

2.  Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

3.  Bared to You by Sylvia Day

4.  Divergent by Veronica Roth

5.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

6.  Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

7.  The Next Thing on my List by Jill Smolinski

8.  Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

9.  Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

10.  Return from Tomorrow by George Ritchie

11.  Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

12.  The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

Other Favorites include:

50 Shades of Grey (the whole Trilogy)

Insurgent

Friendship Bread

Christmas 2012

This has to be my favorite Christmas ever.  It had absolutely nothing to do with presents and everything to do with family.  I am so proud of my kids for somewhat understanding (as much as a 2  and 4 year old can understand) the true meaning of Christmas and showing that over and over this holiday season.  Here is a quick recap.

Christmas Eve.  My favorite day of the year.  We left home around 9am and headed 2 hours away to visit my family on the shore.  It was just the way I'd always remembered (minus my Mommom).  My Aunts and Uncles and tons of cousins all together, eating and hanging out.  For me, it was magical.  I miss being so far away from them.  I wish my kids could see them more and get to know them.  It was just so awesome.  That evening we went to my old church for their candlelight service and then drove the 2 hours home.  It was exhausting.  A small part of me wishes we could have just relaxed at home instead of rushing, but it was worth it. 

Christmas morning, we got up at 6am.  Mia was so excited.  I was so proud of her though.  Instead of running right to her gifts, she first ran straight to all of her grandparents to give them hugs.  I think she understands that family is definitely more important than gifts.  Paxton was too confused.  If I remember correctly, he just layed in the floor :).  Love that boy!

The kids opened gifts, we made breakfast, and then opened more gifts.  After that, we went and looked at our new house again (hopefully going to settlement next week).  I'm beyond excited.  When we left, we went to visit Parker.  This was the most rewarding part of the day.  Mia asked if we could buy balloons for Parker, God, and Jesus.  She is so thoughtful and I am just so proud of her.  We got flowers and balloons and took them to his grave.  We sent one balloon up to Parker for Christmas.  Then, we sung Happy Birthday to Jesus and sent him a birthday balloon.  We put another balloon and flowers on Parker's grave and headed home.  I'm sure his celebration in Heaven is far better than any we could experience here on earth.  I just hope he knows how often he is thought of and how much he is missed. 

Last night, we headed to my sister-in-law's parent's house for dinner and then finally...home in time for bed.  Here are a few pictures from our weekend.  I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. 

Christmas Eve at my Aunt Helen's.  Mia and her cousin, Ella

Christmas Morning...

Christmas Dinner.  Pax on his new bike with his cousin, Emma

Happy Birthday Jesus

I hope we all take a minute to remember....today is not about Santa or what gifts we got or didn't get.  Today is about the birth of Jesus.  My family will be celebrating with a cake this afternoon and per Mia's request, we will be sending up Birthday Balloons for Jesus and Christmas balloons for God and Parker.  I love her sweet heart. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Eve

Today is the day that I miss my Grandmother the most.  She passed away 10 years ago in November and Christmas Eve was her favorite (and mine) day of the year.  It was the day when everyone would come to her house (at various times throughout the day) to eat and spend time with her.  I, of course, always got there bright and early and stayed until we all left for the candlelight service at church. 

She had a small house and I have no idea how we all managed to gather in just a couple of rooms, but we did.  It was one of the few days throughout the year that I would see almost every one of my cousins (and she had 10 kids so believe me when I say I have a huge family).  My Grandmother would also make a huge pot of soup and biscuits from scratch which we would enjoy.  And fudge and chocolate cake.  There are no words to describe how absolutely delicious they were.  She was the best cook I have ever known. 

Christmas Eve has been a lot different for the past 10 years.  This year, will be the first year that most of my family will be together again and I am so excited.  Several of my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins will be gathered at my Aunt Helen's house for dinner.  There will be over 35 of us last time I counted.  Being 2 hours away, I rarely get to see them and even more rarely get to eat with them (and my aunt is a great cook too). 

My wish for you all is that you get to spend your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the ones that you love the most. 

Sunday Social...Favorites

  I'm linking up for the Sunday Social this week...so here we go... 
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? 
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough...or just Chocolate

What is your favorite smell? 
I love the smell of new babies.  I also love the smell of cookies baking, vanilla, lavender, sun tan lotion, and the beach.

What is your favorite TV commercial? (Past or Present) 
I used to love the hostess commercial where the shark would bite the person in the raft because they looked like a twinkee or something. 

What is your favorite day of the week?
Friday or Saturday for sure.  I love the idea of sleeping later than 5am, though it still rarely happens on the weekends.  My kids get up early.

What is your favorite way to waste time?
Blogging :).  Pinterest.  Reading.  Watching TV.  Filling my shopping cart online then not ordering anything.

What is your favorite article of clothing?
Fleece PJ pants and my March of Dimes tv (with holes in it).  I wear them just about every night.  So comfy and so warm and the t-shirt is so soft. 

Tag-Your it Christmas Style

My friend Sharee over at Mom Fitting It All In tagged me in this Tag - You're It Christmas Style and I tag Kar @ allmylove, Mommy

 

SO here it goes....

Time for a little Christmas Questions and [hopefully} great Answers.

1. What makes CHRISTmas such a special holiday for you and your family?

I have always loved Christmas.  Even as a kid, I loved the idea of visiting my Grandmother on Christmas eve and seeing all of my cousins, then going to church and getting up early on Christmas morning.  Now, I love watching my kids get excited. 

2. Were you told the truth about Santa Claus by your parents or did you find out another way? And..do you plan on lying to your kids (if you have them or plan on having them)? Oh yes…I went there. 

Unfortunately, I do not ever remember believing in Santa.  I'm pretty sure my mom told me when I was 3 or 4.  I remember going to kindergarten and being the only kid who knew Santa was not real.  Sad, but true. 

Yes, we tell our kids that Santa is real.  I will let them believe as long as they want.  :)

3. Real tree or Fake tree? 

I would love to have a real tree, but fake ones are so much easier.  We have a fake tree that is pre-lite and I love it. 

 

4. Do you open presents on Christmas morning, Christmas Eve or both? 

Both I guess.  My family usually exchanges on Christmas eve and then you get the gifts from Santa on Christmas morning.  Chris's family does everything on Christmas day so we just go with the flow. 

 

5. What is your favorite Christmas movie to watch? Favorite Christmas song to sing or listen to? ( I know…technically two questions) 

ELF all the way!  LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Feeding clinic update, a minor accident, and a new house

Paxton is now going to Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital weekly for outpatient feeding therapy, following the 7 week intensive feeding program.  He is still only eating baby food and still not self feeding, but we are making a little progress.  He will bit small pieces of snacks (captain crunch, fruit looks, puffs), but sometimes you have to restrain him first.  Once in a while, he will do it himself though so definite progress.  Hopefully the self feeding portion will come soon as well.  He has the ability, but just refuses. 

I really wish I had stayed in bed this morning.  On my way to work, the car in front of me hit a tire that had been blown out and left on the road.  I then hit it too and this is what it did to my car. 

Thankfully, this is my commuter car.  It's 10 years old, almost 200k miles on it, and has been paid off for years.  I am still upset though.  Not to mention, this happened at 6am, on a very busy road, with rush hour traffic. 

Moving on to happier topics....We are officially moving.  As in...moving houses.  Not far...only a few miles away, but moving to a much bigger house with more land (for less $ might I add).  I love short sales.  I'm so excited!  The banks finally approved our offer yesterday and now we are setting a closing date for early/mid January.  The offer was not contingent on the selling of our house, but please pray that it happens soon as we really cannot afford 2 mortgages. Are their any interior decoraters out there that want to help me for free?? 

How to survive a long car ride with 2 small kids

Before we left for our 18 hour car ride to Florida, I was definitely concerned.  I didn't know how well my kids would do in a car ride for that long.  We went overboard preparing.  We had:

-Snacks

-little bags of "gifts" including match boxes, coloring books, crafts, etc. 

-DVD players with a binder of movies

-Ipads for the kids

But you know what???  The kids were great!  They watched the same 3 movies over and over (Dora animal adventure, Barbie's perfect Christmas, and Tangled). 

I was surprised how easy it was.  We stopped on the way down for dinner and stayed overnight in South Caroline.  The next day, we stopped in Jacksonville to meet my sister and niece.  After that, we drove straight to Bradenton.

We drove straight through on the ride home.  That went great too!!  We stopped for potty breaks, lunch, dinner, and an impromptu trip to the grocery store for milk.  I had full intentions of coming up with some great tips and what not to do's for this post, but I have nothing.  It went better than I could have ever hoped.  The DVD players were a total lifesavor and I do think that it helped that we had never hooked them up before.  Other than that, I have no recommendations.  Just have food and some great movies. 

Happy Traveling. 

Literary Junkies Link up

This month's questions:
1. What are you currently reading? Tell us about it.

-I'm about 1/3 of the way through the Night Circus.  It is really good so far. 

2. If you could choose any author in the world to write a story based on your life, who would you choose to be the author? Why?

- I would have to go with Nicholas Sparks on this one.  I love the way he tells stories and develops his characters. 

3. Tell us about your favorite place to read.

-  Anywhere really, but my all time favorite would in a lounge chair at the beach.

4. What books would you buy for lovers of  a) chicklit, b) literary fiction, c) classics? 

-a) Anything from Nora Roberts, Nicholas Sparks or Emily Giffin. 

-b)  The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak, Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
-c)  I do not really read classics

Remembering the Victims' and families

Remembering the victims' and families

Christmas Talk

1. Tell us what your favorite thing about Christmas is.
Honestly everything...including the weeks leading up to Christmas.  If I had to choose though, I'd say seeing how excited my kids are about it.  They make every holiday more fun. 

2. Tell us what your plans are for Christmas this year.
We are really laying low this year and I'm so glad.  We will spend Christmas Eve visiting my family about 2 hours away.  We will come home that evening and go to church and then it'll be bed time.  Our parents are coming to watch the kids open presents on Christmas morning.  After, we will relax at home until we visit Chris's parents for dinner. 

3. Show us a picture of Christmas in the past. Or present.

4. Do you wrap your presents all in one box, or do you like wrap each present separetely?
I wrap everything seperately.  Although I absolutely hate wrapping presents, I love to have a ton of gifts for my kids to open. 

5. Tell us about any special traditions that you or you and your family like to do.

Our traditions are going to church on Christmas eve, watching Elf while putting up the Christmas tree, having Alex, our Elf on the Shelf, visit, going to look at Christmas lights with the kids at least 2-3 times, visiting Santa a few times, and baking cookies to leave out for Santa.  We are always adding new things and this year, we will be celebrating Jesus's birthday with a cake on Christmas day. 

Why does my son insist on laying on the floor in public places

For months now, Paxton insists on laying on the floor wherever we go.  This includes restaurants, grocery stores, department stores, and most recently Disney World and Epcot.  This usually happens when we are trying to eat or shop....or just sit for a second. 

The pictures below are from this past week. 

 

 

This is how Paxton greeted Princess Belle.  He literally flopped on the ground in front of her.  Awesome. 

 

 

This was during dinner at Cracker Barrell.  I got a lot of dirty looks for taking this picture instead of pulling him up.  I'm picking my battles.  I was hungry. 

 

Mia is not immune to this craziness either, though when she lays on the floor, it's usually because of a tantrum.  On a side note...she dressed herself.  Post on that coming soon.

 

So...what do you do in these situations?

 

For those FL Residents....the North Pole Express

For years, I've heard my Dad and sisters talk about the North Pole Express in Parrish, FL.  Since we were going down in December, I decided to buy us tickets.  I have some mixed reviews on this excursion.  It probably would have been a little better if I didn't get motion sickness.

First, you ride a train for 30 minutes to "Santa Land".   Once you get to "Santa Land", there are a lot of things for the kids to do.  They have crafts, toy trains, train display, food, s'mores, and more.

 

The first thing we did was get in line to meet Santa.  The kids posed in front of the tree. 

 

Then we met Santa.  It was cool as they only let 1 family in the room at a time and we could take as many pictures as we wanted. 

 

We also made Reindeer food

 

and snowflakes

 

and then we made s'mores. 

 

Overall it was good.  The problem I had with it was that we were forced to stay there until the last family saw Santa.  With that said, we were there for like 3 hours.  After 1 1/2 hours, we were bored.  For an event organized by the train museum, the train display was a little disappointing.  I've seen better displays at our local nursery.