The Holidays Are Around The Corner.... Literally.

I can't believe the holidays are literally just days away! I love the holidays, not just because of the food - though I've been known to endulge tremendously, but because it means we'll be surrounded by family near and far.   This year is especially wonderful because my Aunt who has been staying with us for the last couple of months from the Philippines will actually be celebrating Thanksgiving here with us  true American style.  In addition, my Uncle is flying from the Philippines as well and my other Aunt who we see very rarely will be here as well.

Last Thursday, we got a frantic call from my sister, Karen super excited to let us know that she would be spending the holidays with us verrrry soon. Like ... next day soon.

 As you can tell we've already been putting her to work, ha!

So as you can already tell from reading the first cluster of sentences of my post, we've had a very full house here at home. But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Being surrounded by your loved ones during the holiday season, is the only way to go. Last couple of years, it was so different not having anyone around outside of my immediate family. It was sad, lonely, and cold.  Just wasn't the same.

During my massive dash for last minute (I know..me? last minute? unprepared? never!) shopping at Target today, I stumbled across this Elf on The Shelf activity set.

(Yup! That's the awesome haul I picked up in the background during my errands today at Walmart and Target)

I've heard so many great stories and beginnings of traditions that started with this cute little elf. Though B is beyond his years in believing that"Santa" exists, my two little ones are going to love this! I've decided to start this tradition on Thanksgiving Eve as the story goes, this little Elf will need a name picked out first and visits on Thanksgiving Day.  So to get this little guy going, we need to do it right.

I'm also super excited that on Nov. 26 they'll be releasing the video of The Elf's Story on Blue Ray and DVD.  I've got an exciting Holiday schedule set up for the boys and I'm hoping all goes well with my plans.

The idea behind this little Elf is that he reports back to Santa every day on whether they've been "naughty" or "nice." Every morning, the boys will wake up and try to find where the Elf is. The boys are welcome to tell the Elf anything they want (secrets, Christmas wish lists, etc.), BUT they are not allowed to touch him or they'll be put on the "naughty" list. The elf is not allowed to talk to them - strict orders from Santa, but he's always listening.

Super cute right?

J joked earlier about how I was far more excited about this little Elf than the boys could possibly be. And like most things that I bring home to share with the family, I usually am. 

I believe in the magic of the holidays, that even the most impossible is possible, and that maybe... just maybe, if I pout a bit, this girl will get a couple of things for the holidays that she really wants.

Like this damn elf tradition to go the way it should.

Like the boys indulging me with a little humor and be as ecstatic about the silly things the holidays bring.

Yeah like that.

Anyways, the boys are off for the rest of the week and I'm being super lenient with the bed time schedules as it's almost impossible to do so when I don't really want to wake up at 7 am if I don't have to.  LOL!

Home and Away...

To say that life has gotten pretty busy lately, is an under statement. I usually go through these spurts of wanting to blog and am able to, then have a couple of weeks where blogging just isn't an option.  I cherish my sleep more. But lately, we've been super duper busy with the business and family. I suppose this is a good thing, but let me tell you there are some days that I miss just sitting on the couch watching trash TV. Ah... gone are those days. 

With the business picking up during the holiday season, J and I made an "executive decision" that I play a more pivotal role in the business, to relieve him from some stress. With me running most of the larger events, he is able to concentrate more on making sure that our business continues to grow. 

I also have to admit that in doing so, I'm actually feeling better about myself - as rewarding as being a mom could be, there are days when we realize that being a stay at home mom can isolate you from society. Case in point; not being able to function normally in public without getting an axiety attack. Yup! That happens. Crowds overwhelm me, not following a schedule spiral me into confusion, and not being able to contain my three boys in a 5ft vicinity makes me question my sanity. 

So working - well being out without the boys - has proven to be healthier for me. Gasp! Did I just admit that publicly.  Whatever.

But today. Today was one of those days where the housewife and mommy hat played a role.  I've been working so much lately that I've emberassingly neglected my home.  So after all the boys went home and J locked himself in our home office, I got to doing laundry... ALL 12 loads.  I've been at it for about 12 hours now and my final load is drying. Phew!

After picking the older boys up from school, we dived right into homework after a little afternoon snack.  I've learned in the last two months that if I let them have a little free time after school, they lose momentum.  So now we've altered the afternoon schedule and have made sure that homework is dealt with while Matt is still at the preschool.

After picking Matt up from school, I promised the boys a little trip to Walmart to pick up a reward for good behavior last week from our point system.  They earned enough for a $10 credit each to whatever they wanted and well, I needed to do a little bit of couponing and snagged a lot of awesome deals

I paid a whopping $19.20 for everything in this picture!! Yeah I was pretty proud of myself, until I realized that I also had to pay for the boys' goodies as well. HAHA!!

J called me right before heading into Walmart and asked if we wanted to meet up at Soup Plantation... how could I resist. Despite the fact that I was totally unprepared and had no coupons, we headed over to meet him for dinner.  As frugal as I'm being with coupons, going to Soup Plantation is like a treat for us.  The boys love it there and honestly I don't mind them splurging on salads and soups. It's a heck of a better choice than heading over to a different buffet.

The boys are still struggling with the time change, and are still up right now.  Trying to get them to adjust has been difficult.  I'm hoping by the end of the week, they'll get used to the new schedule.

Hope everyone is having a great day! Till the next time.