Missing in Action

I have seriously been slacking on getting this blog going.

I am trying to do so many things at once and keep up on everything around the house. (Insert sigh, though I know I have no reason to complain, just a bit overwhelmed)

My college classes started back up, decorating for Christmas, Christmas shopping, trying to make inventory for my Etsy shop, and trying to take care of a 3 month old don't give me much time for anything else...

The only way I can get any crafting done and it's still hard with that adorable smile :)





But I'm vowing to get everything I want to DONE and in a timely fashion. I've always been a "list" person and it really does help so much. There's something so gratifying about crossing those things off your list you've been struggling to get done.

For a little recap of our holiday week...

Wednesday night we had a casual "appetizer" dinner at my mom and dad's house. My sister Jen and her husband couldn't make it to our big family Thanksgiving so we decided to have a night of finger foods and all kinds of dips. The food was amazing! I made monster cookie dough dip and a cheesy bread dip that I had never made before but turned out really good. Camden always gets lots of attention and loves it (especially from his Grandpa.) We're finding out that he is really starting to love looking at books and we're going to have to start packing them with us wherever we go.

Thursday morning I woke up early to get all of my cooking done and be able to give Cam his bath before we left. I tried a corn souffle (that honestly wasn't that great) and a recipe I got from a friend that her family calls "Yumminess." It is a concoction of Fritos, three kinds of baking chips, and peanut butter which doesn't sound good at first but OH MY it is amazing!

The finished product

We got over to my aunt and uncle's just in time for Kyle to catch the Lions game and eat a big lunch. Kyle has a tradition of wearing his Lions jersey to Thanksgiving since he was really young and Barry Sanders played. He insisted that Cam dress up in Lions gear with him so I decided turkey apparel wasn't needed and he could start a new tradition with his daddy.

 

These pictures were taken after we got home and it took forever to get a good shot. Kyle looks extremely tired and Camden was a ball of energy.

 

 

Going to my aunt and uncle's is always something I look forward to each year and this year was especially fun as Camden got to meet his cousin's for the first time. (And me too!) I have triplet cousins that were born in June and I hadn't got to see them yet due to having a cold while they were in the hospital. Everyone loved on all the babies and it was the funnest thing to see our family holiday filled with babes again.

 

 

After a long few days of cooking and family gatherings I wasn't too king on going Black Friday shopping but I'm glad I pushed myself to go. The girls in my family have had a longstanding tradition of going Black Friday shopping together, eating lunch, wearing silly hats, etc. The amount of us who go has dwindled but it still makes for a fun day with family! I was feeling some withdraw as it was the longest amount of time I had ever been away from Camden but Kyle made sure to send me pictures while they hung out at Kyle's work.

 

Picture from Kyle- Caption: Hi mommy!

 

 

Watching Tom & Jerry with daddy at work

 

 

We scored some great deals and didn't have to deal with any crowds. Shocker! We always shop in Lawrence which is much better than Kansas City but even then, this year was extremely low key. We did come home with tons of stuff and had to be buried in the car!

 

 

Yes, they had to dig me out when we got back!

 

 

The final part of our weekend we went for a quick trip to my hometown (which is only about 10 minutes away) to get our Christmas tree. There is a tree lot where you can walk around in the field and pick out your own tree, then get it cut down to take home. I have many memories of going with my parents when I was still the only daughter at home. We had so much fun, one year going after a big snowfall and making a snowman with a mohawk while searching for a tree. Kyle and I have gone with my parents to get our tree the past 3 years and just can't pass up a real tree. Camden wasn't having much fun as he got hungry as soon as we got there but Grandpa saved the day and kept him on the move.

 



 

So comfy in his new hat from The Rand's

 

Grandpa's boy

 

 

We hurried home so that we could make it back for the Chiefs game (which they disappointingly lost) and got the tree up. I have yet to do any other Christmas decorating but at least our tree is up and I am loving it!

 

 

We despise our star tree topper as it never stays in place so I improvised with some burlap and an ornament from Target. I love how it came out!

 

 

I am getting so excited to start family traditions with Camden and show him what Christmas is all about, no matter how old he is!