A request

It's been requested that I post about my fall on Saturday night...

Saturday night my family had a birthday/retirement party for my mother. My brother, sister-in-law, niece, nephew, dad and Jeremy & I and boys met at the Hays House to surprise my mom with dinner. I had been rounding up a high chair and booster chair for the boys and had noticed a slick spot on the floor but had gingerly walked over it. Well later during the night, I was making a run to the bathroom apparently too fast and wiped out. I'm not talking about a graceful fall... I completely slipped with arms flying up in the air and landed on all fours in the restaurant. Thankfully it was in the corner of the restaurant not in the middle!

My beautiful niece and me at dinner.

My mom, brother and me at dinner.

The birthday girl and her grandkids.

After dinner we had a surprise get together at my parents house with cupcakes, cake and coffee.

 

Yummy cupcakes...

Dave and his cousin Truman wrestling. They play so well together.

Dill, mom's good friend Susan, and friend/former employer Eleanor.  

Two of the couples my parents hang out with. (Betty and Sam, my parents, are in the middle)

Dave doing the dishes after the party. He's such a super helper!

Baby Dill. He turned six months on Sunday. My baby is growing up before my eyes.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I promise you... I am thankful for much more than just 22 things... I just never got around to positing about all my thankfulness!

It's been a little crazy at the McDiffett household the past few weeks. We had Thanksgiving with my parents, Jeremy's parents and our good friends the Talley's. Jeremy and I made a quick trip to Minnesota for his work. It was a great trip together and I got to go to the Mall of America while he was in meetings. I am not necessarily usually a loner but I LOVED shopping by myself and just spending the day doing exactly what I wanted to do. And maybe it was because it wasn't quite close enough to Christmas or everyone in the Midwest is friendly but I seriously was so impressed with how cheerful and helpful everyone in Minnesota was!

My mom retired on Saturday and her 60th birthday is today. We had dinner and a shindig for her Saturday night. It was fun... pictures to come on that later...

Sunday our house was on the Christmas tour of homes in Alta Vista, along with two others. It was not a big deal, the house just needed to be clean and decorated. I was a little freaked out, to say the least, because I wanted it to look perfect and with two little boys - plus a very sloppy mother - that's hard to do! It ended up being a great day and looking pretty good. I realized I've never posted any pictures of our house so I thought I would do so now!

The Front Porch

My "free" tree... I made this Christmas tree out of a tomato cage and garland I had in a bag from a few Christmases ago... I thought it turned out pretty good considering it was free and I didn't spend the $60 on one I saw from Target that was smaller!

Front Door - I made this inexpensive wreath a few years ago and just fluff every December!

View near front door. The blank wall behind the t.v. is where my shelves will eventually go.

View from near the t.v. That's my mom coming upstairs! She helped me get everything ready.

The Christmas Tree - I'm thinking this is the last year of my tree looking like this. It's so pretty with red, silver, polka dot and striped ornaments! Next year I'm sure Dave will want to have his hand with the tree so we'll cross that bridge then. Might be fun to have all sorts of different ornaments and ones we've made!

Fireplace

I didn't take a good picture of it but our kitchen/dining room is one big room with the fireplace at one end and the kitchen at the other... I love it! It's so warm and cozy in the winter with the fire going!

Our table has rolling chairs and flips over to also be a poker table. Now that we have kiddos, we realize the rolling chairs aren't ideal... we're going to move this to the basement and get a different dining room table but I'm incredibly picky so it may take a while to find something we want for upstairs.

Leilani's step dad made this china cabinet and Jeremy bought it for me our first Christmas that we were married. Herb has since passed away and this piece has a very special place in my heart.

View from the table

Bar

We renovated the kitchen a bit about a year and a half ago. We kept the cabinets but purchased new appliances, put in a new back splash and counter top. Also when we moved in, the house had fake shingles over the soffit above the cabinets. We took that down as well and it's MUCH BETTER!

Our bedroom

Boys Bedroom

Boys/Hall Bathroom

K-State Basement

Spare Bedroom in Basement.

We also have a master bath and bathroom in the basement that I didn't take pictures of. I didn't take pictures of the laundry room or office in the basement either... but there you have it - our humble abode!

Now the most important part of our house...

Dave kept pinching Dillon's cheeks to make him smile.

Mean face

Happy Face

 Happy Monday!

Fifteen through Twenty One

I guess Monday is my catch up day. I haven't posted in a week!

# 15 - Coffee

I've started drinking coffee this past week and it's amazing what it does to wake me up in the morning... I wonder if I could give it to Dave? He definitely has his mom's (and dad) morning personality.

# 16 - Brotherly Love

Jeremy and I got lucky. Dave does not, for the most part, get jealous of the attention Dillon gets. And Dillon is usually so patient with us when Dave needs something. I know they will argue and fight sooner than later but I'm so happy they already have the foundation of brotherly love that they have.

# 17 - Broke not Wealthy

This is going to sound kinda crazy... I'm glad we are "average" in the terms of income. We are lucky to have a nice house, that we can keep warm, in a town we enjoy living in. We can afford groceries and, although not expensive, Christmas presents. Not only am I thankful that we can provide the necessities to our family... I'm glad we aren't overly wealthy. Our boys are going to grow up the way we did... working for what we wanted. Jeremy and I both worked in high school and paid for our own cars. Our parents may have given us spending money every once in a while but we learned to spend our money wisely because it was "our" hard earned money. I'm glad our boys will be raised this way. I am glad that we don't have an overabundance of funds because I would find it hard not to give it to the boys all the time when they wanted... Jeremy on the other hand - would probably stop me - but I'm glad we don't have that to worry about!

Maybe I'm crazy!?! Who is happy to be broke? :)

# 18 - DVR

Sad to say but the DVR might be the best invention ever made. I can still watch my shows even during football season! Sometimes those shows are at 2:00 on a Saturday during the boys' nap but at least it's out there ready for my viewing pleasure!

# 19 - George

I'm thankful that King George is going on tour again and Jeremy and I have tickets! We are going to have a blast and I'm glad this is something we can agree to spend our money on... even though I told my friend Katie that 1 ticket costs about 6 boxes of diapers... the cheap kind at least!

# 20 - Friends

I've already been thankful for my friends once this month but... it's just nice to have people who know you and know what to say to make your day easier and better. My friend Rachel always knows what to say to me. It's funny - I could have a conversation with Jeremy and the same conversation with Rachel. She'll tell me the same thing he does - but it's better received because it's her. :)

I also had a friend, Lyndse, that brought me a fun treat today. Dove Peppermint Bark. Oh wow. If you haven't had it... you need to. It's amazing. She knows that Dove dark chocolate is a weakness and I love peppermint bark. Her gift today made my day... for some reason she knew that was just what I needed.

Twelve, Thirteen, & Fourteen

I definately have much to be thankful for... but... this posting every day is obviously a little difficult for me!

#12 Bella Boo

Bella is our first child... our fur child some may say. I have to admit that I sometimes let Bell fly under my love radar and when I'm all caught up in what the boys are doing but she is a great dog. Bella is the most sensitive, loving and cuddly little weiner dog someone could hope for. She sleeps with Jeremy and I each night and is our little heater in the winter! We are lucky to have such a sweetie who will be four in less than a month!

*Sidenote - I've been informed by Jeremy that Bella will be 5 and not 4. Apparently I'm a bad parent.

Two Christmases ago

This summer... isn't she sweet!

#13 Teaching Dance

I've posted on here before about my love for dance. I was blessed to be able to teach again this year in Council Grove. I hate being away from the boys that night but love that I get to do something I love, get a little exercise and even make a little extra money! It's definately my way to release some tension each week...

#14 Love of Reading

This also doubles as a thank you to my parents... Thank you for giving me the love of reading. When I was younger, I would spend ALL DAY on Sunday reading. I have memories of eating a bag of chips (yes I know... I was addicted then too!), a can of Pepsi (healthy!) and reading for hours leaned against my bedroom door or on the living room couch. I'm glad my parents encouraged this hobby because to this day... I'd rather be reading than doing anything else. I'm completely content with a book in my hand no matter where I am. It's one of my greatest hopes that I can pass this love on to my boys. Dave already loves to read but its just hard to get him to stop for a few minutes to actually get through a whole book!