Stockings...An Afterthought!

At both our house and at Ga-Ga & Pa's we completely forgot about the stockings. We didn't end up opening the stockings at Ga-Ga & Pa's until late in the day after dinner.

By this time Ella had kind of figured out this whole opening present thing!

Ella got banana cookies and some yogurt melts!

The boys got trucks, Buzz & Woody zipper pulls, tape, scissors, crayons, paints and of course candy!

Owen wanted Jack's truck that he got so he traded his Buzz zipper pull to get it. It was fun to see the boys negotiate like that. It also wasn't very hard to convince Jack since he really wanted the Buzz zipper pull!


When we got home from Ga-Ga & Pa's on Monday we had the kids open their stockings at home. I swear my kids think that Christmas is a week long celebration!


The boys each got a movie in their stocking - Veggie Tales Jonah & Bedtime Stories. Owen got a truck and Jack got a container of frogs and lizards from Toys For Tots.


And what's a stocking with candy! Twix to be exact, or as Jack calls them...chocolate fingers!


Ella Bean (another one of her nicknames) was so cute just holding her stocking. I had to help her get her treats out.

She got two containers of puffs - Blueberry and Strawberry Apple. They aren't Gerber they are the Albertson's brand and so far she doesn't like them! :(

By this time I was ready for the Christmas festivities to be over...it's exhausting!

Christmas at Ga-Ga & Pa's - After The Presents!

After the present opening extravaganza it was time to sit down and eat breakfast. Uncle Ry made his famous french toast and it lived up to it's name...it was yummy!

The boys were excited to use their new character plates and cups.

After breakfast it was time to break in those toys and start playing with them.

I'm not an expert when it comes to girly toys, but this teapot and teacup set from Fisher-Price is super cute. The boys love it too!


Uncle Ry didn't sleep well the night before so he caught up on some Z's.



Later on it was time to munch and of course have a spot of tea.


This was probably the healthiest thing Owen ate all day!

Time for dinner!

I was in charge of the stuffing this year. I've never been a real fan of stuffing so we usually just make Stove Top out of a box. This year I found a recipe in the Thanksgiving issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. It was chalked full of celery, onions and mushrooms and of course bread...I was a little worried it wouldn't turn out good, but I shouldn't have been. It was the best stuffing I've ever had!

Ella was still sick so she was actually sleeping during dinner. When she woke up she got to enjoy all sorts yummy food though. She especially loved the sweet potatoes!

While the adults were watching The A Team movie I let Owen have my camera and go around taking pictures. He's actually really good at capturing some nice shots!

I tried to get a picture of all 3 kids, but Ella was just all over the place so I settled for a decent picture of the boys.

Corny Christmas Tree Pictures!

Ga-Ga & Pa

Family Friends - Jim & Norean

Uncle Ry and Aunt Stephie

Our little family!

Christmas at Ga-Ga & Pa's

This is how I spent Christmas night at Ga-Ga & Pa's. We had put the boys to bed, but they were so excited about their new inflatable mattresses that Ga-Ga got they would not go to sleep. I didn't want them coming down and ruining the surprise so I waited. While waiting I decided why not play a few games with the family. I didn't get started until after 9pm and we (I finally asked Michael for some help...I usually like to put things together by myself) finally finished it at 12:15am.

It was definitely all worth it though!

Ga-Ga bought this for the boys a few months back and it's just been sitting in the garage waiting to be put together. In the morning we got the boys up after Ella woke up and brought them downstairs to see the surprise.

Ella wasn't sure what to think of this train table.


Owen was super excited! Jack on the other hand looked at it and then walked over to the tree and said, "I wanna open those presents!" He's not as into trains as Owen is, but I'm sure he will be later on.

There were SO many presents under the tree. I wish I had taken a picture...it was ridiculous! We actually had to go in phases so it wouldn't get overwhelming! Uncle Ry and Aunt Stephie spoiled the boys. They each got 5 or 6 individual gifts and then 3 together gifts.

They got Ga-Ga & Pa a digital picture frame and we got them their photo calendar that we get them every year.

I'm not sure what Pa is opening here!

So from Uncle Ry & Aunt Stephie Owen got Cars cup, plate and bowl, Hot Wheels track, Cars bubble bath, cute squeezy toy that has a light in it...

Cars activity set with crayons and paints and,

Sock Puppet making kit.

Jack got a Toy Story Memory game, Toy Story book with a stand up Woody doll, Toy Story Play-Doh, Hot Wheels track and a cute squeezy toy that has a light in it. The together toys included a Toy Story Tin with popcorn and a Toy Story hologram picture to hang in their room. I know I'm missing something though! I told you they got spoiled! :)

From Ga-Ga & Pa they got the train set, personalize rolling luggage, pajamas, Uno Moo, Guess Who and crayons for the tub.

Ella got a special gift from Uncle Ry...

Her very own glow worm. He said it reminded him of me since I still have my glow worm from when I was a little girl. She also got socks and a couple sets of pajamas from Uncle Ry & Aunt Stephie.

Ga-Ga & Pa got Ella a few cute and witty bibs, a Fisher-Price Piggy Bank and Teapot and Tea Cup set.

Uncle Ry made out like a bandit! He got slippers, headphones and charger for his game controler, shower gel, chocolates and more. We also got him and Aunt Stephie a photo calendar.

Aunt Stephie did too! Here's she's modeling her new leather jacket and in the pocket was a gift certificate to her favorite store...Dress Barn! She also got a digital camera and matching pink case from Ga-Ga & Pa.

Michael and Ryan showing off their character undies...Iron Man for Michael and Star Wars for Ryan. Michael also got 3 sets of pajamas, socks, chocolates and a grooming kit.

I got a new comforter set for my bed, sheets and a gift card to my favorite store...Old Navy! We were all spoiled!!!

My Favorite Pictures Of The Kids At Christmas!

Christmas Morning At Home!

Surprisingly the kids slept in on Christmas. I was sure they'd be up early, but I guess staying up until 10:30ish the night before helped them to sleep in. I believe I got them up around 8 or so. I can't really remember it's seriously a blur!

Ella is wondering what in the world is going on! This year the boys totally got it. They were just tearing into their gifts. Owen was especially ready...he would walk over and touch a gift and say, "This one is mine Mama!" and he was always right! Michael thinks he scoped out the presents before Christmas since he's knows how to spell his name.



I tried to be really money conscience when buying gifts this year. I got things on Craigslist...at Value Village...at garage sales...with gift cards or on a really good sale after Thanksgiving. The boys got a totally of 4 games, Chutes and Ladders, Junior Boggle, Toy Story Yahtzee and The Fishing Game.

I got this on CL for a whopping $13!

Ella got 3 puzzles and a ball set from Toys For Tots, Fisher-Price Carnival I found on CL's for $10, a dolly from friends from church and the big Fisher-Price Playhouse in the first picture on this post.

We got the boys each got a movie - Ice Age The Meltdown & Toy Story 3!

This is Jack big present. I had seen it at Target a while back, but it was 59.99! On Thanksgiving day I noticed that it was going to be on sale for 29.99 for two days. My mom and I headed out to go buy it, but the first Target we got to they were sold out and the worker we saw in the toy aisle said they sold out in about 2 hours. I was so sure they were all going to be out. Later that day we went to different Target and we took our time making our way back to the toy section. I was sure they weren't going to have it. Then I walked down the aisle and there it was! (Insert Hallelujah music) I was so happy I seriously almost cried. There were these ladies in the aisle and they must have thought I was a totally nut job! I just know how much Jack LOVES...no ADORES Toy Story and I knew these would be his favorite...and they are!

Owen loves diggers! I found these at Toys R Us and the reviews were pretty bad about them breaking, but they were the only ones I could find that looked real. So I decided to give it a go. So far we've had one part break on one of the diggers, but it will still work. I have a feeling in about three months they will all end up in the garage can, but they will still be worth the price.

I found Ella's playhouse that at Value Village about 2 months ago. It was $10, but it was missing the balls and shapes that go with it. The day after Thanksgiving my mom and I went to Toys R Us and I saw that they still sold it in the stores...for $84.99!!! I ended up calling Fisher-Price and getting a part replacement kit for 9.48! That has been the best find...all the kids love it!

This year because of the way Christmas fell on a weekend we were able to stretch it out over 3 days. Christmas Eve with Michael's family, Christmas morning/day at our house and then after nap time on Christmas we headed down to Ga-Ga & Pa's to have "Christmas Morning" with my family on Sunday morning. It was so nice to not have to rush!