I love the wonder. And... a giveaway.

We are counting down the days to Christmas with books this year. The kids take turns opening a book to read each night. To prevent arguments amongst my lovely children over who gets to open the book, I used three different wrapping papers... one for each kid. We just finished reading tonight's book about Christmas carols... we sang and sang... and my kids shushed me.

Dear Santa... For Christmas, I would like to be able to sing. Love, Bethany

I bought 20 kids' Christmas books at our local used book store for $21... a used book store is a must for this project. The other four books... well, three of them are actually videos... one for each kid... and the fourth book is 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, which came from our collection.



I'm just patting myself on the back for actually being on the ball this year and having a countdown to Christmas. I made a pact with myself to get things done early this year... so far, so good. Our holiday decor has settled in for the winter.



And my cards are sent. Booya.



I love the wonder and beauty of the holidays. It gives me the warm fuzzies.



We spent this past weekend soaking up the beginning of the holiday season.

We worked on our gingerbread sleigh. Mason decided he should take off his shirt and anything that Mason does... Payton follows. Not sure when my kids became so concerned with getting themselves dirty but... there ya have it. Ha.

Payton really enjoyed the frosting. Literally. She preferred to eat it, rather than give to her reindeer. "Mmmmm," she kept saying.



We did crafts at our community holiday extravaganza.



We cozied up on a horse drawn hay ride... hooves clacking, bells jingling and sporadic singing of Christmas carols.



And the kids got to see the jolly guy in the red suit.



We hit the local holiday parade... one of my favorite traditions.






And Rex is back. This year, he is up to no good. Mason was less than thrilled when we discussed the fact that Rex may be coming back... but now, he can't wait to get up in the morning to see what Rex is up to.



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Time for a giveaway... and there are more to come. Just a few of my favorite things. ♥

I lurve hats on my babies. Nothing warms a momma's heart like seeing those sweet little cheeks peek out from beneath a hat that gets "Oh, I love that hat!" or "Where did you get that hat?!" everywhere you go.

Enter Freckles & Firecrackers. An adorable little business that is run by one awesome momma and her momma... and they just so happen to have an adorable little someone with Down syndrome in their lives. ♥



One random commenter from this post will win their choice of hat from Freckles & Firecrackers. Contest ends Friday, December 9th at midnight EST and the winner will be announced this weekend.

Check out their etsy page here... and their facebook page here. And use coupon code 12days for 25% off your order... only now through Friday, December 9th at midnight EST!

Although we are already past their cut off date for Christmas, they have agreed to offer an expedited option just for you... click here for details. This offer is only good through Friday, December 9th... so hurry!

Good luck!

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Favorite deals of the day:

Best Buy has the Nintendo 3DS for $169.99 (retail value) plus free shipping... but you get a $50 Best Buy gift card with your purchase. Net cost of 3DS = $119.99.

Best Buy has the Nintendo 3DS Madden NFL game for $7.99 plus free shipping... go, go, go... not sure this will last! Retail value is $29.99.

And ... if your child needs a clear case to protect their Nintendo 3DS... check this out on Amazon... dude, it's only $.12... yes, 12 cents! Retail value is $14.99.

Got any good deals to share?

sail away, sail away.

i have never been on a cruise before. for me ... doing so was more of a fantasy. i get motion sick very easily and the thought of being on a ship for days on end made me nervous. all i could think of was how incredibly sick i got on the deep sea fishing trip i went on when i was younger. no thanks.

fast forward to a few months ago ... my cousin and i decided we were going on a 4-night cruise. i figured i could take dramamine and wear those oh-so-stylish sea bands ... right? well, all nerves aside ... my sea bands did me well.





sail away, sail away.

the sail away party could be described in three words. beer. music. and dancing. it was all i had ever envisioned a sail away party would be. you know, if there had ever been a time that i envisioned such a thing. the moment you realize you are worry free for the next few days ... as you sail away into the horizon = serenity.




that night we went to dinner, saw a show and perhaps got a wee bit nauseous. we went back to our cabins to endure the motion of the ocean. luckily ... night one was the worst and the rest of the trip was not as bad.

to our surprise, our bed had been turned down and teddy bear was waiting. before we embarked ... mason had given his daddy his teddy bear to take on our cruise ... because he loved him. aww ...



each night we also had towel animal creations waiting for us. it became a guessing game as to which little guy we would get each night ... on our last night, we put in a special request for a monkey. and we got him ... but, i think he was a grim reapin' monkey.



day two. we ported in freeport. i guess we did not really know what to expect, but when you know you are porting in the bahamas ... you envision white sandy beaches and little bahamian shops.

sunrise coming into freeport

freeport = not so much. more like ... big concrete slab and taxi drivers waiting to take you somewhere, as if you have any clue where to go or who to trust.



we approached an older trustworthy-looking gentleman and asked for advice as to where to go. we knew we wanted a beach and so he told us to "go wait over there". we soon learned that you cannot get a taxi cab with less than 10 or so people ... all jammed into a small van that feels like it could break down at any moment. our driver, david, was awesome though ... he taught us all about the bahamian culture.



we made our way to junkanoo beach. and all i have to say is that crusty old van ride was so worth it. junkanoo was heaven on earth. silky smooth sand. crystal blue water. the hum of jet skis in the midst. and drinks in hand. a true tropical paradise.



the minute we stepped onto the beach, we were bombarded by locals. i will admit ... they were very nice and quite entertaining. my cousin and i had a hard time telling the women no ... they all had their sob stories and we felt so bad for all of them. their stories were all true, no?

"pretty lady, you want braid? how about necklace? there's lots of competition ... please buy from me."

"get your tshirts! blue light special ... buy one, get none. life time guarantee ... call
1-800-BAHAMAS direct."



i could spend a lot of time at this place. at i sat with my feet in the sand and a drink in my hand, i couldn't help but imagine weekly trips to junkanoo with the kids. one can dream, no?



we basked in the sun for a few hours and then hailed a van taxi to town ... where the marketplace was. we shopped a bit ... and got everything we needed to top off our tropical paradise. you know ... where else do you get to drink from a coconut? my cousin had to have it.



we made our way back to the ship for a night at sea. we took in sunset from the upper deck and i got ballsy with dinner that night ... seafood. i really do not like seafood. but for samson ... i ate seafood.



samson was our waiter. we.love.samson. he was hilarious and made dinner one of our favorite parts of the cruise. he is from india ... we enjoyed getting to know him and learning more about the culture in india. oh ... and he about had a heart attack if we tried to order a hamburger or something else not-so-gourmet ... so, seafood it was on this particular night.



day three. nassau.

sunrise coming to into nassau

getting off the ship in nassau was so different than freeport. everything we wanted was right there. shops, restaurants, bartering with locals. but first up ... snorkeling.

could the water be any more gorgeous?

we took a huge catamaran out on the water with 100 or so other people to go snorkeling. we sat on the bungee cord nets in the front, elevated right above the water ... that was fun and everyone ended up with tic-tac-toe butts. ha.

once we anchored, we all put on our snorkel gear and hopped in the water. oh wait ... my cousin geeked out at the last minute and did not go. sad.



peace. 

oh my goodness, we laughed so hard at each other. i don't know why it was so funny, but it was. kyle couldn't get his mask on and my life vest ended up choking the hell out of me because it wasn't strapped tight enough to my body.

but once we got ourselves together, we were good to go. gotta say i expected to see more color ... the reef didn't have much to offer. nonetheless, it was still a fun experience.





once we got back to the ship and showered ... we took on nassau. it was refreshing to shop in the stores and not be called a pretty lady every two seconds or be badgered to buy things. some of their gift shops were insanely cute and i'm kicking myself for not buying a few of the things i saw.



then we took on the locals. and again ... my cousin and i felt so sorry for all these women. it was late afternoon, so many of them had their children sitting there with them ... clad in school uniforms and all. they were adorable.

as we walked through the streets of nassau, we met winston. he had a woodworking shop that he wanted to show us ... or possibly he wanted to sell us uh, something else. we snapped his pic and kept right on walkin'. 

at sunset, we headed back to the ship for dinner, drinks and shows. the dancing and singing shows were great ... but tai, the girl that hosted superstar live: karoake, was hi-larious. oh my gosh ... we laughed so hard at her. she basically is there to help and sort of make fun of the people singing. we loved watching her show.

as we waited for dinner, we had fun with my camera at the atrium bar. asking another person to take a picture while shooting on manual settings and using focal points = almost pointless. the staff person who offered to take our picture then fell deeply in love with my camera and just wanted to keep shooting us. she was pretty funny.

camera recovered and given to our boys = even more pointless. but still cute, fuzzy and all.



love this girl.



damn. there i go flashing signs again. did i seriously think to myself .... "self, it would look awesome if you double flashed peace right now."

ha ... such a loser i am. but i still love this girl. my baby cuz.



day four. fun day at sea.

a whole lot of this ...



and this ...



and a very happy 12th anniversary to my husband. my best friend. my love. 16 years we have been together ... that seriously seems like an eternity, but we must be doing something right because i love this boy more today than ever before. love him.



so when is the next cruise?

cousin love.