So What Wednesday!

I am linking up again with Shannon for So What Wednesday.

So what... if it is almost 2012 and I haven't even started my 2011 Shutterfly Family Album.  I was ready to just not do it this year, but then I figured one year my kid(s) will look back at the books and wonder where in the heck the 2011 one is? I was talking to Chris about this last night...and he said well 2011 was pretty crappy... Well I have decided to work on making a 2011 one anyway... it may not be very big (many of the photos I took this year from May on were on my iPhone), but I've got to do it.

So what... if one of my new absolute favorite guilty pleasure shows is TI & Tiny - The Family Hustle on VH1.  It airs on Monday nights. 

So what... if I recently discovered (no exxageration) that we have at least 100 picture frames...in all sizes, colors, styles, etc... that are not on the wall... and I bought an 8 x10 black frame last night.

So what... if when I checked Madison in at the airport on Monday and was trying to tell the ticket agent that she was flying alone... that I could barely get the words out.  Not to mention I teared up when she was getting on the plane...and then again when the plane was in the air.

So what... if I swear way more than I should.

So what ... if it's almost January and I am still wearing my flip flops.  I have yet to buy any boots.

Last Week...

Last Friday I was forced to come to terms with some things that have been going on in my life...

This has been pretty much the most difficult year of my life thus far...

2011 has included our second year of marriage, a job I wasn't happy with, leaving that job, moving far away where I know nobody, a new school and struggles for Maddie, struggling to conceive, conceiving...finally,  and then the loss of our unborn child. 

It has been A LOT.  I have cried A LOT.

Add that to spending about 95% of my week inside the house... and you could say I am not the happiest person.

My husband has noticed and commented.

My daughter has noticed and commented.

I have some changes I need to make.

Celebrating Christmas

We woke up Christmas Eve morning and I did some household chores and then I prepared cupcakes, blondies, a cheese ball, and green bean casserole for Christmas dinner. 

We enjoyed a fabulous early dinner (minus the bad waiter) at PF Changs.

We had the spicy shrimp appetizer, vegetable spring rolls, Mongolian beef, combination lo-mein and chicken lettuce wraps. 

Best Dessert Ever - Banana springrolls in caramel and vanilla sauces with fresh berries and a scoop of pineapple-coconut ice cream

Once we got home we let Madison open one present.  The one she chose was Sims Pets 3 for the Xbox Kinnect.  She is playing it now and obsessed.


On Christmas morning we woke up around 9 am and I insisted on making breakfast before opening presents...so Chris and Maddie went through their stockings at the dining room table while I made pancakes and bacon.  Maddie loves lottery tickets and won $10.

Then we opened Christmas presents.

Chris's family came over around 2 for Christmas dinner.  We had a great time.

We had a nice day.  However my thoughts this morning and throughout the day kept leading me back to the fact that I should be in my second trimester now... and no matter how hard I try to move on... it still makes me terribly sad...just about every day.  I also learned yesterday my friend, Jill, lost her baby... when she should have been about 12 weeks pregnant.  Having confided in her during early pregnancy and relying on her for information while going through my miscarriage... my heart aches for her and her family.  I thought of my friend, Kelly, who was murdered almost a year ago by her husband...and her two sweet children.  I thought of my blogger friend Brandy... and the loss of her sweet baby boy.  I thought of my friend Mary, experiencing her first Christmas without her sweet baby Remy... I thought of my childhood friend Laura who is no longer with us and her family.  I about how my parents were supposed to be here today with us... and they ended up not coming.  I thought about how only some of Chris' family came...and not all of them due to crazy/awkward family rifs...

So as much as our day was great... it wasn't without reflection and sadness.

Merry Christmas from Melissa @ A Dozen Years Later

Since I am pretty sure the 25 Christmas cards I sent out have made it to their recipients, here is our 2011 Christmas card.  I took this photo of Madison myself and you can see the Newport, Rhode Island bridge in the background.  Merry Christmas from our home to yours.

Stripes In Color Holiday Card

Shutterfly always has unique designs for our holiday cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Friday Randoms

~ I got up this morning and did my Christmas dinner grocery shopping fairly early (9am).  It was still a mad house.  My best find was sweet cinnamon Cool Whip.  I have never seen it before, but I will be using it to top a pumpkin pudding pie I have added to our menu.  I stopped yesterday after babysitting to get my ham at BJ's. 

~ Also, since we do not have seating for 8... I am serving Christmas dinner buffet style... and on plastic sectioned plates...with paper napkins... and plastic cutlery.  Fancy stuff over her I tell you...

~ Madison had her first "babysiting" job Wednesday evening.  She did great and on Thursday afternoon (we both went over that morning to watch the kids - 3 of them - a 2 1/2 year old boy and twin 7 month old girls) the mom asked her to start coming every Thursday evening.  She is super excited about her job and for a chance to make a steady income.

~ Also, after babysitting Madison and I were starving and went to Wendy's for lunch.  They had raspberry Diet Coke!!!! I was super excited.  I will be going there in the very near future for another one.

~ I have a pile of dishes in the sink... to do AGAIN.  The crappy thing about eating at home... is there are always dishes to do...sigh...

~ I am working on a 2011 recap post... which is going to be probably boring and depressing because 2011 was a real crapper of a year for us.  I'd like to say it can only go up from here... but the Debbie Downer in me knows it could always get way worse... still I am holding out for a much better 2012.

~ I have a list of things I want to accomplish in 2012, but instead of making yearly goals or resolutions... I am dividing them up into months... smaller goals for each month.

~ I am so looking forward to our Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow at PF Changs... it is one of my favorite places and we haven't been in forever.  I may even treat myself to a drink... I do not remember the last time I had a sip of alcohol... I may get dessert too... I plan on splurging.

SO WHAT Wednesday

I have been reading Shannon's blog for awhile and thought I would link up today for

So What Wednesday.

This week I'm saying SO WHAT if...

~ So what if I have not bought one thing for my husband for Christmas.  I think I will go tomorrow.  We are just doing stockings this year.
 
~ So what if my new idea of treating myself...is driving down to the local gas station for a 32 ounce fountain soda... 1/4 cherry coke and 3/4 diet coke.
 
~ So what if my breakfast this morning consisted of one buckeye candy and my lunch so far has consisted of a handful of cinnamon sugar pretzels (I made both yesterday...see that post for recipes)
 
~ So what if I really don't feel like adding the links to those two recipes for you... but it is worth going back to get them (for you).
 
~ So what if I haven't paid my Direct TV bill this month... I think it is overpriced...a waste of money... and I kind of want to just cancel it (or get it cut off) to see if we can manage with out it.
 
~ So what if I will then miss all of my trash reality shows... I bet there is a way to watch them all online.
 
~ So what if I too often let dishes pile up in the sink before washing them or clean clothes sit in the dryer before folding them.
 
~ So what if I really am considering just taking our fake tree (with the ornaments on it and everything) and putting it in the basement until next year.
 
~ So what if I picked up two lottery tickets (scratch offs) at the gas station earlier to put in Madison's stocking... she likes them.
 

What are you saying SO WHAT to today?

Holiday Baking ~ Teacher's Gifts

This morning I am doing some baking before work.  I want to make little treat containers for Madison to pass out to her teachers.  When you are working on a tight budget and your middle schooler has multiple teachers... holiday gifts become a bit more difficult to manage.

I had these leftover Chinese takeout boxes from our wedding favors plus those great and super cheap labels I ordered through Tiny Prints.

I filled them with chocolate frosted brownie squares and Buckeyes.

Then I made cinammon sugar pretzels (sooo good) and tied them up in little baggies with more custom labels for her teachers too.

I know it isn't much, but I hope it is a small treat to brighten their day.

Planning Our Christmas Meal

My husband and I are hosting a Christmas dinner this year.  There will be 8 of us (the three of us, my mother-in-law, plus two of my husband's brothers and their daughters).  After much deliberation I finally decided on our Christmas menu and here it is ....

I think I may channel my inner hostess and have this printed out and framed on the table with all of the food.  We do not have seating for 8 (unfortunately) at a table, so it will be buffet style.  I plan on serving the appetizers in the living room between 2-3:30, and then I will serve dinner around 4:30 or so.    I am excited to be hosting my first Christmas dinner... although it is bittersweet.  My parents were supposed to be here this year for Christmas...and they are not coming. 

Easy Homemade Macaroni & Cheese Recipe - Two Ways

Since mentioning it in a previous post, I've received several emails asking for my recipe. I am happy to share it with my readers and I'd love to hear if you enjoyed it if you decide to make it.

You will need:

1 box of noodles - I always use elbows
1 stick of butter
1 cup of milk
1 small brick of Velveeta
(1-2) bags of shredded cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil your noodles. Drain and return to the pot. Add the stick of butter, the milk, and the brick of Velveeta (cut up).

2. Keep on low-medium heat and stir often until the butter and cheese melts. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Now this is where I stop for Chris and Maddie because this is how the prefer it.

I like to spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and preheat my oven to 350. Then I layer half of the mixture in the pan, cover with shredded cheese, add another layer of noodles, and another layer of cheese. Then I bake it for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is a light bubbly brown.

This isn't the "healthiest" recipe... Nuts it's so good and easy to make. I don't have a photo to include and I'm writing this from my phone... So I hope there are no typos.

Make this. You will not be disappointed.

Linking up to -

A Busier Weekend Than Usual

We usually don't do much on the weekends... but this weekend was busier than usual. 

Friday night we picked up Chinese food and Chris and Maddie watched movies while I worked on my Christmas cards... a few went out Saturday morning...but then I needed more stamps... so the rest will go out tomorrow.  I didn't order enough... oh well.  I will be posting my card this week...but here is a little sneak peek.

I worked a four hour shift on Saturday.  Chris and Maddie went out to run errands which included picking up Dunkin Donuts gift cards for her two bus drivers.   Her bus has never been late...to pick her up or drop her off.  I figure a bus driver is a pretty thankless job and I just wanted to do something small to thank them and to let them know I appreciate their punctuality. 

Later that day my Aunt Carol and Uncle John drove in from Massachusetts to visit.  They've really made a great effort since we have moved closer to reach out to us, invite us to family gatherings, out for meals, and even to come to their house for Thanksgiving.  So we enjoyed being able to spend the afternoon/evening with them in Rhode Island.  We enjoyed at late lunch at the Coddington Brewery.  Then they came back to our house for a little football and to hang out.  I sent them home with some goodies - 7 layer bars and chocolate peanut butter pretzel balls (which by the way are amazing)...although they ate plenty of them while still here. 

This morning I had to be up and out of the house early.  I occaisonally help out a local family with three small children.  I answered an ad a bit ago.  They have twin babies and a 2 1/2 year old and basically when one of them is working... the other one just needs an extra hand.  I was really dreading going this morning because it was cold and I wanted to stay in bed, but once I got there the time went by fast...plus the extra cash isn't bad either.

This afternoon I headed out solo to finishing shopping for stocking stuffers... I picked up a Paris locket and chain Madison had seen while out yesterday with Chris, a Paris notebook, a fun graphic tee, some candy, some gel pens, and some headbands...all to stuff in her stocking.  Then I stopped at BJs to pick up a few things...mainly trash bags which we were totally out of before heading home.

I cannot believe Christmas is in a week.  I am making Christmas dinner here and need to finalize my meal plan for that day.