Weekend Recap (November 13, 2017)

This weekend was a nice time to take a breather from all of the Fall fury that has been our lives...we had a weekend off from cheer competitions and it felt so good.  

Truth be told, Diana and her team are practicing and preparing for the New England Regional Cheer Comp next Saturday in Providence, however, not having to compete this weekend gave us more down time at home...and the chance to get decorated for the holidays (a new record here and I will explain why!)

Here is what our little weekend looked like....

Thursday

Even though it was technically not the weekend yet, I needed to include this precious little.  My parents took Eva on Thursday while I was at work and of course, she had the time of her life.  They went to Christmas Tree Shop and picked up some games and then played at home and even made some Thanksgiving cookies.  She was so tired that as soon as I picked her up, put her in the car and buckled her into her car seat, she fell asleep. I needed to snap the cuteness

That night, I lead the PTA meeting because  my friend Shannon, our President, is in Hawaii with her fam!  I was a bit nervous.  I hadn't lead a meeting since I sat in that chair 10 years ago!  All went well though and when I got home I fell asleep almost instantly...just like Pidge!  (Eva)

Friday

The kids were off from school as it was Veteran's Day.  Diana had an idea to make my Father-In-Law a card to thank him for his service.  He LOVED it as did we.  She helped Eva sign her name as well and they surprised Papa and brought him to tears of course :)

The girls occupied themselves while Rob and I worked.  They were so good- and they are really playing more and more together- warms my heart.

On my lunch break, I convinced Rob to bring down my office Christmas tree and the girls and I decorated it. Though he resisted at first, he understands why I wanted everything up earlier this year.

This is a very good chance that Diana's cheer team is going to qualify for Nationals.  The AYC National Cheer competition is in Orlando and is December 6th-11th.  It sounds exciting but it could not be more stressful for us.  It is the worst time of year and a financial hardship BUT I am keeping everything in prospective and know that whatever is meant to be will happen.  If we go, it will be Diana and me and we will at least get to spend some quality time with some besties like the Batsons, Grahams and Rekarts.  I will make the most of it for Diana as it is an opportunity of a lifetime.  Somehow...we will get through.....

Anyway, I digress.  So, Rob knows that I may miss an entire week of the decorations and such around here so he kindly obliged and then really got into it.  

I was also able to get the rest of the Christmas touches done in my office... 

 P.S. The Mistletones is on in the background.  It is not a Hallmark movie but a definite keeper this time of year.  Watch it...you won't be sorry.  Diana introduced our family to it three years ago and if you like singing...you will love it!

That night, my mom came up and took me to dinner at Common Man.  We got the same dinner and it was awesome- Parmesan and Cornmeal Encrusted Chicken with an awesome Warm Tomato Salad...delish.

We had a great time catching up and then we headed home to spend some time with the girls. Rob was watching The Grinch on the iPad with the girls and he had lit a fire.  Something went wrong though when the family room started filling with smoke- my mom and I came back just in time for a little excitement...Eva obsessed of course and the next morning, the first words out of her mouth were fire AND smoke...hysterical.

All is fine now but you can never expect everything to be calm in our home...we are the Griswolds after all ;)

Saturday

We had cheer practice first thing.  After that, it was time to finish decorating most of the house.  (We saved the big family tree and family room decorations for that night.)  So....I snuck in some Hallmark and then Beth Ann and I met for lunch.  It had been too long and it was sooooo good to catch up...have some laughs...and realize again how we are on the same exact page on EVERYTHING...just love her

After lunch, it was time for Diana and I to head to LDA so I could get hair and makeup lessons for the Nutcracker.  I was so happy and relieved that we are going to be able to work with her curls...can I get an Amen?  I also got butterflies...it was so exciting to be in the room with all of the Party Children and their parents...the moms were sharing tips and I took furious notes...I really had butterflies...the reality hit me again that she is a Party Child in the Nutcracker...AAAAHHHHH  I am so excited for the show!!

After our lessons, Diana headed to her three hour rehearsal and I headed home to make a warm family dinner.  Have you bought Shay's latest cookbook?  It is called Simmers and it is all slow cooker meals. 

I decided to try a new recipe for our cozy family dinner and decorating night....King Ranch Joes.

It is a twist on a famous southern dish called King Ranch Casserole and it is a unique combo of that casserole and Sloppy Joes.

Well...Zach, Rob and I loved them...the girls...not so much.  There was a little kick in there and I think that is what threw them off...they ate some of the cornbread and then we needed to make some chicken nuggets....ugh!!  So...I wouldn't say it was a slam dunk for the whole fam but we will keep trying!

After dinner, we all jumped in to decorate the family room and the girls got wild..they were so excited and VERY loud...Zach is such a good sport...he was helping us decorate and helped to keep the girls a bit more calm..hysterical.....

Always the toughest task...getting the star on...Daddy rocked it....

and then Zach made us laugh again ;) 

When it was time for bed, we let the girls sleep together on Diana's floor- they have been begging us so we thought it was a great time to try it.  It went so well.  We will be moving Eva into Diana's room after the holidays so they can share a room.  I have heard from so many different people and have read so much about the benefits of putting siblings together...they are so lucky to have each other so we want them to enjoy some very close years while they can.

Diana was reading to Eva and I had to snap a pic...squishes my heart!

Sunday

Diana had CCD first thing and then we met her at mass.   After that, we headed to Home Depot to get our little Christmas trees for our outdoor planters and also some greenery to decorate some spaces outside and inside.  After that, it was time to squeeze in some more Hallmark and Daddy did some more yard work.  He is still working on getting that tree chopped up.  Our chainsaw burnt out so he borrowed one from our friend Eric....we are realizing just how big of a monster that tree really is...eek!

That night, I headed out to meet some besties for dinner and Bad Moms 2....we laughed so hard...I haven't laughed that hard in so long...I needed it and it was a perfect ending to our cozy weekend around town....grateful!