Christmas in Maggie Valley

Okay, so it's February and I'm just now doing a post about Christmas......what a slacker :)

We celebrated Christmas in a rental house in the mountains this year. For me, it was perfect except for missing family members (frown). Our celebration was simple but just right for us. Christmas morning we opened presents, oohed and ahhed over the snow, and ate a yummy breakfast complete with the traditional Cracker Barrel knockoff breakfast casserole. Little R had tons of fun feeding her baby doll, playing dress up, and enjoying having her CoCo around. We had planned on a late lunch/early dinner for our main Christmas meal but it didn't exactly work out that way. We lost power for a few hours two different times so the food wasn't ready on time but we didn't care. Little R and the rest of us spent LOTS of time outside playing in the snow. It was our first White Christmas so it made the day even more special.

The REASON for the SEASON- JESUS

The TREE....$10 tree bought 4 days before Christmas. Small, lopsided, uneven, think Charlie Brown Christmas tree with a borrowed stand that dwarfed it and don't forget the awesome tree skirt aka burgundy bath towel.
The ORNAMENTS-a few ornaments my Mom made (sequins and pins on styrofoam), old plastic silver ornaments that were destined for the garbage, glittered pinecones made by Little R and I, foam ornaments made by all of us, and of course strung popcorn :)
The PRESENTS-homemade scarf for baby, hubby and the sisters, foam stickies for little R (she spent forever in the tub playing with them, homemade soap for the ladies, scrapbook style picture plaques for everyone, homemade microwave popcorn with bags decorated by R for everyone, a shirt for the hubby, and some store bought toys for R.
The ACTIVITIES- painting with watercolors, snuggling while watching movies, playing in the snow, making snow angels, gathering pinecones for decorating and starting fires, making glittered pinecones, making smores outside by the campfire, trip to waterfall, playing by the river, collecting rocks, coloring, sipping hot chocolate outside covered with blankets, just sitting and watching the fire, playing with new toys, reconnecting :)
The PEOPLE-me, hubby, Little R and CoCo (sister). We had hoped others would join us but it didn't work out that way.
The SETTING- Wonderful 3 bed, 2 bath rental home on the side of a mountain, 2 covered decks, deck off of master bedroom, view of the mountains, 2 fireplaces in Maggie Valley, NC
The FOOD- cookies for Santa, cheesecake, smores, fresh ground coffee, Pomegranite glazed Ham, hashbrown casserole, red beans and rice, cornbread dressing
The MEMORIES-first white Christmas, little one making snow angels, reindeer food for Rudolph and crew, Little R in her super cute snow suit, first Christmas without my Mom, SMORES!!

We did get snowed in. That was quite an experience. We didn't leave the house for 5 days except for hubbie's trip to the grocery store. Thanks to friends of a friend we survived. My friend Kym who lives in Maggie just happened to leave for Reno the night before we got there BUT she hooked us up with people she knew with a massive 4 wheel drive truck. They were awesome and took the hubby to the grocery store and even took our trash away. We were able to leave only after our driveway and the gravel part of the road was salted (x 2) and plowed by the mailman's son for a reduced rate AND Vitti was driven down to the main road by a "local". Yep, the mailman's son-hubby happened to talk to the mailman about the roads and how the home owner and the rental company were not helping us get out and he gave his son a call and next thing you know, we have someone to help at about 1/2 the cost of all the others. BTW-a light SUV without 4 wheel drive and with regular not so very new tires is not appropriate for driving on snow and ice.
We had a fabulous time and it was just what I needed. Now, to make the mountains my forever home.

Visit to Nanny and Poppa's

The hubby and I and little R went to my parent's house for a few days last week and over the weekend. This car trip was so much better than others. We stopped about an 1 1/2 into the trip and bought a portable DVD player. That thing is an electronic MIRACLE. It was great to have little R not whining and complaining about most everything after 30 minutes in her car seat. She did get grumpy close to the end both ways but nothing like the typical trip. What a relief.
We all enjoyed spending time with my parents. Plus, as a bonus, my brother and his 2 girls came and spent the night on Friday. It was nice to catch up and baby enjoyed the attention from everybody. Mom was worried R might be scared of her baldness-not at all. R just looked at her head, smiled and giggled, rubbed it a little and went on. Mom was relieved.
I spent quite a bit of time cooking and preparing food. I did get 12 meals in the freezer though-Yea!! Now I know they have some home cooked meals without alot of hassle. My Dad doesn't cook much and Mom still has very little energy and continues to have some yucky side effects from the chemo. They get alot of takeout and deli meals and eat sandwiches.
After getting that many meals done in a kitchen I'm not used to in a reasonable amount of time-I'm even more determined to do some freezer cooking for myself. Now, finding the time to do it is the key.
This week is essentially a 3 day work week for me. I was off on Monday except for court in the morning and I'm off again Friday. I could definitely get used to this!! However, no such luck for me.
Have a Happy Independence Day!

Pain, quick trip, and more

Wow...it's Thursday already and I am so far behind with household chores, not to mention paperwork. I spent my weekend in pain and under the influence of narcotics. I HAD a cavity that needed a root canal but thought I could wait until the end of the month to get it fixed. I had it all planned out- I would go to Tuscaloosa on a Thursday, go to the dentist on Friday, and have the rest of the weekend to spend with my Mom and Dad. Well, it didn't work that way.
On Friday evening, I was downing alleve and tylenol in copius quantities. By Saturday, I was taking my neighbor's meds. Saturday night ended with a trip to the ER for pain meds and antibiotics. I spent most of Saturday and all day Sunday sleeping-opiates knock me out. On MOnday morning, the hubby started calling around looking for someone who could see me ASAP. He called a random dentist in Mobile and they said they could see me that afternoon. After hearing this, we threw clothjes in a suitcase for us and R, grabbed extra diapers and a sippy cup and headed out. We made a speedy trip to Mobile and the dentisit saw me as soon as I got there.
The experience was not a pleasant one BUT it was not as painful as I expected. The dentist was thorough and gentle, the staff was friendly and it was cheaper than having it done here in PC. 900$ later..I'm no longer in pain.
R did get to spend a little time with her grandparents and we were able to rest a little before driving home the next day. I say a little because the in-laws house is hot, not warm, hot!!! Also, the bed seriously hurts my back AND I forgot to pack a bottle. I remembered the liners but not the bottle. Little R still drinks a bottle before bed. I know, bad mommy for not breaking her already. It was so pitiful though..she woke up once crying :I can't have it..bottle, I can't have it. I wanted to cry :(
On a happy note- We stopped by Battleship Park and little one got to touch an airplane. She now talks about kissing and hugging the airplane. Too cute.

Family Reunion, car trips, etc

Well, we are back from our short trip to attend a family reunion in Alabama. The ride there was not pleasant. We need to remember to only travel in the morning or early afternoon with R. When she is tired, riding in a car seat for hours is not something she does without a protest. She cried, whined, and practically begged me to hold her (I hold you)-it was sad :(. We did stop once at a McD's to let her play for about 30 minutes and that seemed to help for a little while.
Little R had a good time playing chase and coloring with her cousin Jacob (he is actually my cousin's grandson, not sure what that makes he and R) at the family reunion. They were so cute!! And we got to see relatives we hadn't seen since...well, last year at the family reunion.
Kudos to my cousins Regina and Sheree for putting it together. I'm looking forward to seeing the CD of pictures put together by another cousin and his daughter. Someone had the awesome idea to have everyone bring family pictures-old and new-and scan them in to create a picture CD.
It was also great to get to spend time with my oldest niece. She came for the family reunion and spent the night at my parents' house. R has only seen her once or twice before but she warmed up to her quickly. It was sweet to see her holding R and see the smiles being exchanged.