My 13 Month Old Daughter Just Gave Me The Greatest New Years Eve Gift Ever!

She slept from 9:30 pm until 9:30 am! First time ever!!!

Yeah for me!!!

Still Celebrating

with my family and friends...but I will be back with some great photos and stories about our time at Disney.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are safe during tomorrow's New Year's Eve celebrations. We are planning a kid-friendly Fondue and Wii Party, so that should provide more opportunity for more photos and stories.

Many blessing for a wonderful 2009 from the Scarlet O'Kara Family.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good Night. I Hate To Go, But...

we're heading to the Park that the Mouse Built!



We are so outta here! Catch y'all in a few days!

Kiss, Kiss...

Wordless Wednesday - Here Comes Santa Claus

Head over to 5 Minutes For Mom to see more Wordless Wednesday entries.

Yet Another Example Of Why Things Happen For A Reason...

Remember this post and this post about the birthday party that Ky was not invited to...

Well I just learned that all of the children who attended the party have Strep Throat! (My niece KK has a mild case...)

And now we have discovered the silver lining behind all the heartache and pain...

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday - The Best Mashed Potatoes EVER!

My dear friend and neighbor shared her favorite family recipe with me before Thanksgiving and it was such a hit that I have to share it will all of your for this latest installment of Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.



Best Mashed Potatoes EVER!!

5 lbs. potatoes

1 stick butter

1 tub (pint) sour cream

1 brick cream cheese

1/4 tsp onion salt

1/2 tsp garlic salt

seasoning salt to taste


Boil the snot out of the potatoes (skins on or off), drain and mash.

Combine with all ingredients. Place in casserole and broil for 5 mins to brown the top.

Yummy! Also great leftovers…they reheat wonderfully!

She warned me that these potatoes were so good that there would be no need for gravy. Did I heed her advice? No. So after Thanksgiving Dinner, I threw out almost all of the Turkey and Pork Gravy...because no one wanted to "ruin" the taste of these heavenly spuds!

Hope you all take my advice and try these taters...but learn from my lesson and let them stand alone...no extras needed!

For my great Tempt My Tummy Tuesday entries, visit here and here. There is even a giveaway that you can enter!

How Can You Tell When Your Mind Is Distracted By The Pressures Of Creating A Perfect Christmas For Your Family?

When you peel a banana for your hungry 13 month old to eat



and hand her the peel while you throw the fruit away!

Not good...Not good at all.

Family Moment Monday - Christmas Traditions

So, I was just cruising around Bloggy Land reading some of my favorite blogs and I came across this one from Motherhood For Dummies. My family loves traditions, especially Christmas traditions...so you know I had to join in the fun!

~~~

Some of my favorite Christmas traditions date back to when I was a little girl. We would enjoy a Christmas Eve party at a dear friend's house. They lived in a neighborhood that was known for their decorations. People would wait for hours, just so that they could drive thru the development on Christmas Eve. Santa Claus was a special guest at the party and my sisters, brother, and I loved being his helpers as he greeted all the children in the cars that slowly drove by. After the party was over, we hurried home to set out milk, cookies, and carrots for Santa and the Reindeers...then we had to go to bed in our matching Christmas PJs.

When we woke up early Christmas morning, our overflowing stockings where laid across the foot of our beds. Excited, we would grab the stockings and all four of us would sneak into one of our bedrooms to open the gifts together. We were not allowed to wake up the grown ups until 6am...so we had to be really quiet...even though Mom & Dad knew that we were up. As soon as the clock struck 6am...we all shouted "MERRY CHRISTMAS" at the top of our lungs...and kept shouting it over and over again until a groggy Mom & Dad joined us. They would invite us into their room so that we could sit on their bed and help them open the fun gifts that Santa left in their stockings. We would all giggle about the "gross" things that Daddy received from Santa...Smoked Oysters, Escargo, Pickled Herring, etc.

After all the stocking goodies were opened, we had to take turns in the bathroom washing our faces and brushing our teeth & hair. During that time, Mom would head down stairs to put the Caramel Sweetrolls in the oven to cook while Dad made sure that everything around the Christmas Tree was just perfect for our first glimpse. It seemed to take forever before they told us that we could come out...and one of them would always take a photo of our excited faces as we got the first look at all the Christmas goodies.

All of us enjoyed these traditions so much that they continue today with the next generation. This year will be the 20th anniversary of our attendance at the Christmas Eve Party...and our children cannot contain their excitement because they get to help Santa before he leaves on his whirlwind trip around the world...

Here are a couple pictures of the four "big" kids at last year's party...





We have also continued with the other Christmas Eve tradition of hurrying home to await the morning excitement, only now we all gather in the same house. All the children have a slumber party in Bryleigh's bedroom while Mom Mom & Papa sleep in Kyla's bedroom. The other grown-ups get to sleep where ever they can find a comfortable spot to catch a few precious moments of shut-eye...





before the 6am "MERRY CHRISTMAS" wake up call...and the stocking gift opening frenzy that follows.







We also have to take a few photos of the Christmas Morning Gift Splendor before the Children see it...













As well as the "First Glimpse" shots...





Hope you all enjoyed this little glimpse into my favorite Christmas Traditions...and please share some of yours with me, as well as Motherhood For Dummies.

Thank You All...

for the wonderful responses. She has been so busy today that there has not been time to be upset.

Our day started out with picking up Great Grandma. She came with us and enjoyed Kyla's Saturday morning dance class. Afterwards, we went to eat donuts before helping Great Grandma finish all of her Christmas Shopping. Later in the afternoon, we took a very tired Great Grandma home and made a surprise visit to Santa and Mrs Claus. Nothing like a Ho Ho Ho to perk a little girl up.

Now we have been enjoying a couple hours of "down time" at home before heading out after the sunsets to enjoy a "Walk Thru Bethlehem"...followed by driving around town to enjoy the Christmas lights. She will be in absolute heaven...'cause PaPa Ron will be with us!

It still boggles my mind that another parent would knowingly exclude a child from a birthday party. It would be one thing if the class was huge, but there is only 16 other children in the class...and with the attendee rule...about 8 - 10 children will not attend the party. I have always told Kyla that if she is inviting one classmate...then she invited them all. The same way with special gifts and notes to her class. No one is excluded.

And for those that were wondering about her invitation being undelivered...I did check with the teacher to see if her invitation was misplaced because she wasn't at school on Monday. The teacher said that the invitations were all mailed to the kids home except for the two new kids in class! My sister and mother asked the little boy's mom about it when they RSVPd. They were told that she could come, but only because she was KK's cousin. Needless to say, she did not go...although, I was tempted (by the little devil sitting on my shoulder) to send along a birthday gift. Good thing the little angel talked me out of it!

Hope you all have a blessed weekend. We are headed out to walk in the footsteps of Joseph and Mary.

My Heart Is Breaking...

cause my 5 year old is heart-broken. She wasn't invited to a birthday party for a little boy in her class that she has a crush on. He has invited what seems like everyone else in the class...but her and she is devastated. What makes matters worse is that her cousin is going to the party and keeps talking about it. Everyone is the class keeps talking about how much fun this party is going to be...

How do you explain something like this to a kindergartner? I keep trying to distract her with a fun and exciting day that I have planned for tomorrow...but it doesn't seem to be working. Right now she is cuddling in bed with daddy...sobbing her eyes out...while I am cleaning, crying, and blogging my frustration.

I Have Resigned Myself To The Fact That...

my daughters not only look like their father, but they are walking, talking hormones like him too!

From the time that I was pregnant with Kyla, she has surrounded herself with members of the opposite sex. Her first boyfriend was Diego



and she would kiss the TV whenever she saw him. Diego was soon replaced by all four of The Wiggles.



Recently she has been telling everyone that Eli Manning is her boyfriend.



I was worried about her choice in "older" men...but last night I felt alot better. She was kissing the TV while watching "The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody"...



at least they are a bit closer to her age.

Bryleigh seems to be following along the same path. Her two closed buddies are the young sons of my girlfriends that I walk with every day. She just cannot make up her mind between "Linc" the older man and "W" the younger man that she can walk all over and take toys from.

Just yesterday, my father pointed out to me that Bryleigh completely ignores babies that wear pink,



but turns into quite the coquette when she sees a baby wearing blue!



Should I send them off to an All-Girl Boarding School on a remote Mountain Top now? Or just learn how to be "The Scary Mom" that frightens all potential boyfriends away?

Wordless Wednesday - A Bit Shallow, But This Is What I Want For Christmas!

I know that I should have said Peace On Earth And Good Will For All Mankind, but I had a moment of weakness and decided to be really selfish...

Click here more Wordless Wednesday fun.

I Must Have Been Living Under A Rock...

'cause the last time that I remember filling up the gas tank in the Jeep, it cost me



over $60!

But today...I filled up for $31!!! I was so excited that I had to tell someone!!!

BREAKING NEWS -

Guess who is playing for the National Championship!!!



I cannot tell who is more excited...Tim Tebow or the rest of the Gator Nation.

What A Great Game!!!

I can hear the entire Gator Nation singing...

"It's Great To Be A Florida Gator!"

And to quote my 5 year old...

"Winner, Winner...Chicken Dinner!"