A Whole Lotta Nothin'...

That's exactly what we've been doing lately.... NOTHIN'. I guess we've needed a couple of weeks to slow down and reboot after the holidays. The P's have gone back to school, I'm back at work, and we're finally getting back on a schedule. I figured since I don't have a whole lot to say, I'd share some pics I've taken recently. Still trying to learn how to maneuver the camera, but its been fun. I look forward to warmer days and taking little mini photo sessions with the girls. Enjoy the randomness that has been our January to date and I promise to have something more interesting to share next time :)

Insisted on pics of the squinkies...

and Ariel too...

Just an ordinary day in the Orrell home

This face right here is decieving ( at times ) and difficult to say no too!

and this one, this is the face Paisley makes for 98% of her photos! How grown does she look here?!

My princesses are also tomboys from time to time. Fun day climbing trees ( in a skirt )

"Sassafrass" as Mrs Jennie would call it....DEAD ON!

I get that response everytime I ask her to do something, mostly annoying, but sometimes cute :)

Sweet threads, right?...She dressed herself

and her favorite outfit...NAKED! ( but with jewelry, of course )

Camera Shy, I Think Not....

My kids have a love hate relationship with the camera. It's really hit or miss with them. Sometimes, if its just me behind the lens, they'll be cute and funny, making faces and even smiling. When someone else is behind the camera and there's others around, you can forget it. The only thing you'll get from them is a few tears.  However, they themselves love to take pictures....lots and lots of pictures. They have become little professionals at taking pictures with our phones, maybe too professional.

Because the P's take so many photo's with the phones, Craig and I find ourselves deleting and cleaning up often. One day, as I'm in the kitchen, probably baking a delicious pie or something, Craig approaches me with his phone and is like " hey, what is this?" I take a look and for a minute, can't quite figure out what it is. Then it hits me and its all I can do to keep from peeing myself with laughter. And then this conversation occurs:

Me:     Well, it looks like a butt
Craig:  Well, is it your butt?
Me:     WHAT! NO!
Craig:  Well, I see long hair...
Me:     Okay, as if I'd take a picture of my butt, on your phone!! That would be Paisley- her hair, her butt
Craig:  What the f*ck....
Me:      <<dying laughing unable to speak>>
Craig    Seriously, where did they learn that from?
Me      <<doing the pee pee dance>> I don't know, but don't look at me like I taught them
Craig    Brittany, this is serious-stop laughing
Me       Craig, they're kids, not porn stars in the making
Craig    What if someone else would have gotten a hold of my phone...this could be child porn!!
Me      <<now I'm snorting I'm laughing so hard>>

 I guess it could have ended badly with Craig ending up on  To Catch a Predator or even worse, prison, butt (LOL) nonetheless, I knew we needed to nip that in the bud real quick, to make sure it didnt happen again. We ask the P's why they took a picture of their butts with the camera and all we can get out of them is uncontrollable laughter. I mean, what did we expect-a drawn out explanation of why they got freaky w/ the camera? Needless to say, Presleigh received her own camera for Christmas, one that's being carefully monitored by the butt police aka Daddy.

Reflecting...

2011 was a memorable year, with lots of change and new beginnings. It started off a little shaky and stressful, but picked up some pace middle of the year and ended on a positive note. 2011 marked my 5 year anniversary, my 30th birthday, my first 5k, my first blog, and my first year in the gym-fully committed. When I sat down to think about 2012 and what was around the corner for me and for us as a family, all I could think about was 1 thing and that's my baby girl turning 5 years old, in 5 months and heading to kindergarten 2 weeks later! I cannot believe it or even think about it for long periods of time without getting teary eyed and all hormonal. And lets not forget little P, she heads to pre-k and will be right behind big sister in no time.

Cliche in every way, but time really does fly by-especially after you have kids. The realization of this really hit me last year, when I turned 30. I've never been one to make resolutions, but like the idea of setting goals for myself, something I had never done in the past....until I was approaching 30.  During one of my " Oh my God, I'm aging" anxiety attacks and somewhere shortly after the new year had arrived, I decided that I needed to start pushing myself harder. I realized I had become complacent and content doing the same things every day at work and at home. By no means do I dismiss the fact that raising a family and running a household is always important and hard work and by all means keeps you on your toes, but at some point in time, you need to do things for yourself as well, if you ever want to be fulfilled as an individual. I realized that to be a better Mom, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Friend, etc, I needed to be a better me. I needed to be a little selfish, self absorbent, and self centered- to be fulfilled, but only in moderation. I pushed myself to new levels at work and earned myself a new title, I pushed myself in the gym and for the first time in my life developed a bicep and a love for running. I told myself I was going stop watching so much trash tv and  whattaya know I actually read 6 books. It doesn't seem like a lot, right? But the growth I have experienced and the change in my outlook is huge. That's really all that matters in the end, how you feel about the life you're living and the life you lived. I've come to know myself pretty well over the last couple of years. We've faced a lot of trying times as a family and as a couple, but each of those experiences have put me where I am and helped me discover where I want to be. A sense of clarity, is worth its weight in gold. And, just as it has taken a lot of hard work to get to where I am, the place of knowing who I am, it will take a lot more hard work to get to where I want to be.

My most recent post on Facebook went something like this:

"This year there will be new knowledge to gain, new concepts to take in, new skills to learn, new people to meet, new friends to enjoy, new sights to see and new thrills to experience! I have a feeling 2012 is going to be full of great things indeed!"

One of the comments I received was from a lady that I worked with for many years, Mama Bern. She always had the most positive things to say and I really did enjoy her prospective and miss having her around. What she said, sums it up when I think about the goals I'm setting for 2012. I want all the memories capable of making! 

"Amen, Brittany! Life is for Living, So do It to Its Fullest...you will have great "rocking chair memories (as do I...ha ha)"

Christmas Past

** friendly advisory, this is an extra long post, not to be confused with a novel and will require a fair amount of your time to read. blog neglect is a result of laziness and procrastination and can only be cured with more time in a day, but is intended to get better in the coming year, promises.

We spend nearly 6 weeks preparing for Christmas, at least I do anyway. All to have it here and gone in the blink of an eye. 8 days past Christmas and  Day 1 of the new year and my decor is still up, the tree hanging on for dear life and yet, I still don't want to get rid of it all. Partly due to my dreading the hours it will take, but mostly because I love Christmas and all that comes with it-I'm just not ready for it to be over yet. Christmas was wonderful this year, why on Earth would I want to see it go?! As the P's get older, they are more into it and make it fun for us all. Watching Christmas movies and Christmas classics on tv day after day, reading all the Christmas stories each night at bedtime, listening to the girls running through the house first thing in the morning on the hunt for Freddie, our Elf on the Shelf, the daily "sleeps"count down till Christmas, Craig's constant whistling of jingle bells, and not feeling guilty for indulging in baked cookies 2-3 times a week -all the little things that make the holidays so special to me. And just like that, its gone. No more music, the lights disappear, and Freddie is packed up and hidden on a shelf for real, until next year. Yep, Christmas is now in the past, kinda crazy how fast it goes.



To recap, I have been out of work since December 19th, that's 14 days for those bad at math. I get back to the grind on Tuesday and I'm not looking forward to that either. I wanted to spend as much time as possible hanging with the P's and take them on fun little Christmas adventures during my time off. I also wanted to experience Christmas without all of the hustle and bustle and rushing here and there, and let me tell ya, how nice it was! I will make this a regular vacation from here on out.

 Lots of mornings spent snuggling on the couch and watching cartoons during my time off! Even Cayenne enjoyed the extra snuggle time!

School Christmas parties- There's always a party for something at school these days, or so it seems. This was fun and meaningful though, so its all good. Paisley's little class put on a small play. Set in the manger, Paisley was to be the night wind, however, that night the wind would not blow, because Paisley refused to do so. Instead, that wind, it howled and cried until I held her throughout the remaining performance. I told Mrs. Terri I would not come to anymore performances to avoid the disruption, but she assured me that Paisley would participate when she was ready and it was okay to keep coming. Presleigh's class performed carols to the parents. Its started out strong with the shaking of jingle bells. Presleigh stood up there, shaking those bells violently,but with her head down the whole time. I could barely see her lips move from behind her hair. She stuck it out through 3 more songs, lifted her head a little and barely moved her lips, but hey, it was something and I was a proud Momma!

Hope for Christmas- I had the opportunity to volunteer at Hope for Christmas with West Ridge this year. I worked in the Santa's Workshop and it was so much fun, like I seriously did not want to leave. I assisted children of all ages in picking out Christmas gifts for their Mom's and Dad's or maybe Grandparents, or whomever maybe caring for them. They were so cute picking out their little gifts and more excited about providing a gift for their parents than even receiving one for themselves. I never heard or had 1 child who cried or whined for one thing in the store for themselves! Shocking considering my kids and their meltdowns in every aisle. Hope for Christmas served over 2300 families in Northwest Atlanta this year, providing a Christmas meal for each of them and handing out over 6300 toys for the children of those families. It was a phenomenal experience and has made me realize how more of my time I need to give to charities and non profit agencies. Look for more on that in 2012! Oh, and THANK YOU to those of you who provided your recommendations of me and made it a possibility. you lied through your teeth for a good purpose :))

We took the P's to see their first movie on the big screen, Chipwrecked!  They loved it and were well behaved the entire time. Little Pais even gave a round of applause when it was over and I teared up a bit. We gave them the full experience with sprites, popcorn, candy, chocolate, etc whatever they wanted to keep the quiet and it worked! Of course Craig was not exactly happy about this as I was prying the wallet from his fingers. Talk about getting your underwear in wad, if you wanna get Craig all worked up talk to him about the price of snacks at the movie theatre. He's the first to make sure I bring my big purse so that it will hold all the zip lock bags of snacks and his own drinks. Usually I'll break the rules and go along with him, but this time I didn't want the cheapskate in us both to win.
One day we went out to get Christmas pedicures, Craig took a backseat on this one- we left there with red and green toes and jolly little designs, even I got a design on my toes and never do that. It was a lot of fun for them and it worked out perfectly because they were able to show them off with the above average temps that week.

On Friday, my Mom, Josh, and I went to see an Invasion of a Christmas Carol at Dad's Garage. A spin on the classic, including improv and a special invader character=hilarious! The actors are great. I laughed from beginning to end. Our invasion character was The Randiest Milkman of London. The actors do not know who the invader will be until he randomly shows up during one of the skits, then the fun begins. If you haven't checked out Dad's Garage your missing out. So much fun and reasonably priced. Can't wait to do that again next year!

We spent the last couple of days leading up to Christmas with lots of family. Making the trek to Thomaston, GA to visit with Craig's side of the family, PawPaw stayed with us through the holidays which was an extra treat and then spending Christmas Eve night at my parent's for our annual Low Country Boil. Before we knew it, it was 1030 and time to get the kids ready for bed in preparation for Santa Claus! We put out cookies for Santa, carrots and water for the reindeer, and read The Night Before Christmas. After they were tucked in the real fun began for Craig and I as we hauled toys, one by one, down from the attic. Before the real Claus' turned in for the night we decided Freddie would play his last little trick on the girls. We lined their door from top to bottom with green streamer so that when they awoke Christmas morning they'd have to bust through to get out. Great, awesome plan in theory, until Paisley woke up crying in the middle of the night scared to death by what she saw and unable to get out of her room. FAIL.

Christmas morning arrived and the kids didn't wake until 9am! That's what I'm talking about! They ran straight to our bedroom and were ready to go. They received all sorts of good toys this year from Santa and family. I tried to upload our videos, but You Tube wouldn't cooperate! In the midst of a wrapping paper storm, they were laughing and shouting with excitement. They received Lalaloopsy's, Squinkies, Leapfrong Learning Systems, 1500 piece art sets, games, remote control cars, purses, dress up boxes full of shoes, gowns, jewelry, and the list goes on and on. I'd have to say that their Harry Potter movies created more excitement then anything else-should've known! Santa could have saved a lot of money!
That afternoon more family arrived for more eating and opening of gifts, 13 total and it was great! I love having a houseful of people, especially on the holidays. Christmas was good to us all this year. The girls are beyond spoiled and are not allowed to receive any more toys until next Christmas. For those of you that are family, this is your warning, NO MORE TOYS.....or else! If you want to be generous, think college fund / wedding fund/ sweet 16, I need a brand new car like Sally at school fund. We'll need all the help we can get in those areas. And my blogs will no longer be photoless and lame, because Craig spoiled me as well with a new camera WOO HOO! I so needed it. Taking pics with your cell phone for a straight 2 yrs and relying on fam or friends to hook you up with pictures is the worst. Neva again...... that's once I learn to use the damn thing. I think he kinda knew I'd be expecting the camera so he decided to throw me a curve ball and upgrade me with some brand new diamond earrings! They are beauties. My original pair of diamond earrings he gave me were a Christmas gift almost 9 years ago and were the first piece of jewelry he ever bought me. I wore them religiously from that day forward and unfortunately this year, lost one on our beach trip. I was literally sick over it, even cried. Nothing can replace the sentimental value of those earrings, but these sure do make it a little easier. Thank you, honey, for making this Christmas extra special for your girls. Guess I really have no room to talk when it comes to that ridiculously expensive remote control car you bought, consider my lips sealed

I hope all of you made lots of memories over the holidays and relished in the time spent with your families! Here's to all things great in 2012!