NYE Kiddie Style

 Our wonderful friends The Sweet's invited us and three other families to their house for a NYE PJ Party. It was a total no brainer, a party where you get to go wearing your comfy jammies...score. Thank you Lisa and Zeke for a fabulous idea.

 I'm not sure how I managed this, but I was able to get ALL of the kids in the picture and looking at the camera. Yay.

 Roland ended up watching the Furbies somehow.

 Best buddies

 Leah is Mr. Lee's #1 fan so she was thrilled to jump all over him.

 

 The chocolate fountain was the way to my heart and I REALLY overate. It was amazing. My kids enjoyed it too by the way. Ha.

Happy 2013, Thank you to everyone who made it extra special. Thank you Lisa and Zeke for being amazing hosts as always.

Pre-NYE Red Solo Cup Style '12

 This was the third year that our wonderful friends got creative and crazy and came to our NYE theme party. This years theme was "Red Solo Cup". Each couple was asked to come up with their best costume using red solo cups. We are NEVER disappointed when it comes to our group. The costumes were amazing. Leah even tried mine on before she headed to her sleepover. A great big thanks to Grandma and Poppy for having the kids for a sleepover. Thank god since the party didn't end until almost 3am. 

 The costumes included...Honey Boo Boo's parents in their redneck finest (Kristen and Lee), Some kinky connecting cups (Rod and Jen), a GIANT cup and booby cups (Lisa and Zeke) and a walking beer pong table and a Miss Red Solo Cup (us).

 The Pope and the queen (Justin and Joan), Cupbands (Brad and Krista), formal ware made out of cups (Pam and Jay) and Miss Solo herself (Mak).

 The girls

 The men of Rock Band. This game is the hit of the night every year.

 I couldn't stop laughing at Kristen's fake belly.

Until next year...

Thank you amazing friends and family for making it a truly memorable night.

Mihalyi Time

 With each passing year I truly cherish the Christmas' that we spend in Lowville. My grandparents are 85 and 87 years old and we all know that each year with them is a blessing. It might be chaotic with many Polish opinions, but we all love one another and the time we get to spend together. I took the time to sit and chat extra with my Gram this year. We all pitched in and bought them a new kitchen vacuum and a new living room TV. They were thrilled, but needed all sorts of instructions. They are so cute.

 Leah got a beauty salon set from my Gram so she and Uncle J decided to practice on one another. PRICELESS.

 We love you Gram and Gramp.

 The yearly "cousins" picture + Seth and Beaner

Christmas at a Glance

 I was completely lazy and enjoyed every single minute of my vacation so I decided to not even turn on my computer for over a week. It felt GREAT. Now, I'm way behind in sharing all of our wonderful holiday moments. Let's just say this was the BEST.HOLIDAY.EVER. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family. We split it up perfectly this year and every night spent celebrating with family rocked. We started out with my Dad and Sue and had a Buckingham fish fry. It was delish and I am proud to say that I ate my weight in fish and cole slaw as always.

 Next up was Christmas with Mom, Tom and Justin. We even topped it off with a snuggly Christmas movie. The kids received the bean bag chairs they so desperately wanted and couldn't have been happier.

 We managed to squeeze some skiing in between all of the celebrations too. Leah still isn't convinced that she like skiing, but we will keep trying.

 Christmas Eve brought the pageant at church. Seth asked NOT to be an animal this year and his wish was granted. He was one of the Wise Men or as he called it "The Red King". He was very brave in front of a packed church and we couldn't have been more proud.

 His sister thought he was pretty cool too.

 Leah was so good at church. We had to be there super early and then sit through the mass. She was in the pew for about an hour and a half.

 After church we headed to The Charlton Christmas. I have to say I think it was the best Christmas we have ever spent all together. We laughed so much and had a wonderful time.

 The kids had so much fun together and Leah even got Uncle Brad to change her dollies diaper.

 Christmas morning brought letters from Santa and so much excitement. The kids were so appreciative and Roland and I sat back and smiled from cheek to cheek. We are so lucky.

 Santa brought Leah a giant doll house which I secretly love more than she does. I tidy it up every night when she goes to bed.

 My favorite gifts are always the homemade ones from the kids. This year they were so amazing. Seth made his hand out of clay and then painted it to look like Santa. It turned out amazing.

 Leah even made her first ornament from Nursery School and it brought tears to my eyes.

 Seth was so excited to get his Steeler's jersey.

Let it Begin...

Tonight is the start of the holiday festivities. The start of gifts, food, laughter and chatter and most importantly it's a time for family. We are looking forward to the next 5 days greatly and we hope that each day and night go by slowly so we can enjoy time with the one's we love.
My plan is to relax and not run around for the next 10 days of vacation. My plan is to sit and enjoy the awe and joy on my children's faces. I am a very lucky lady and I truly appreciate all of the special people in my life. The people who take the time to stay in contact any way possible. In this busy life we lead it is very hard to stay in touch. I am so lucky to have wonderful people in my life that sent us beautiful Christmas cards, people I stay in touch with via Facebook, Instagram, text, email, snail mail and even by phone. Thank you each and every one of your for letting me be a part of your life. Cherish this time because each day goes by in the blink of an eye. I tell Leah all the time to stop growing because she and Seth are growing way too fast so I'm trying to savour it.
Here is to a fantastically fabulous Christmas 2012.

It's Almost Christmas

 Since the finale of The Littlest Elf  we  felt as if we could finally breathe and truly spend some time together as a family and at home all cozy snuggled up by the fireplace watching holiday movies. That is until...Roland got the flu. :( We decided that we wouldn't let it get us down and after quarantining him and washing every blanket and hard surface in the house we decided to have a special movie night with popcorn and chocolate covered flies. We even let Rocky snuggle on the couch with us. (he never gets to do that.) I introduced the kids to the movie Elf and we all laughed and laughed and it was just what the doctor ordered. Laughter and family time.

By Saturday Roland was feeling much better, but still not 100% so we sent him to his parents house to rest while Sara babysat and I went out to celebrate Kristen's 35th Birthday. We started with a couple of Tom & Jerry's and then a delicious meal at Karen & Jasper's. I really missed my hubs, but was glad that he was able to rest and recuperate. 

 Thank goodness by Sunday Roland was almost back to himself and able to attend Seth's winter music recital. He was so excited and not shy in the least in front of a huge crowd of people. All of the kids in his group sang and danced beautifully. I definitely got teary watching him up there. We couldn't be more proud.

 Now that we are one week until the big day I have been asking the kids to help out with lots of goody making in the kitchen. Yesterday they helped me make Peppermint Bark for some special people.

 As you can see they loved beating the candy canes into a pulp. Love those smiles.

 Today was Pajama Day at Leah's school and she was over the top excited to get to school this morning. It was a big three year old fashion show as we walked into the hall. I can't wait to hear all about it this evening.

The largest news of the day is this Subaru pictured above. Roland picked this brand new vehicle up in Syracuse this morning. It will now be Roland's work vehicle. The next step...get rid of his old car. Stay tuned...

What's up the for rest of the week you ask? Tons and tons of celebrations, one more chance to celebrate a 35th birthday (and not mine), Christmas with The Buckingham's, Christmas with The Puccia's, Christmas with The Charlton's and that's all before actual Christmas Day. After all of that we rest and hopefully ski. Bring on the snow.

 

Future Stage Stopper

 Here are a few of the pictures from my phone of the BIG weekend. I'll have to download the rest from my camera this week at some point. It was a wonderful weekend full of young talent and Roland and I have never been so proud of our six year old. I actually got very teary as I drove Seth home on Sunday afternoon after all was said and done. I told him how incredibly proud I am of him and then the flood gates opened. He told me he was sad that it was all over. What a kid.

 I have plenty of videos to share as well.

We brought Leah to the Saturday evening performance and she LOVED it. She sat the entire time and was thrilled to see her big brother on stage.

 What an amazing and memory filled weekend.

Sneak Peak

Thank you Poppy for not fully retiring so we can carry on this amazing tradition!!

Agenda

Let's see what is on The Charlton agenda for the week, oh yes, elves, elves and more elves. It's the crazy hectic holiday elf week the kids have worked so extremely hard for. They have 3 more practices and 5 performances between now and next Sunday. Seth came home last night and totally crashed. He was snoring so loud that I had to laugh OUT LOUD. He loves every minute of it, but he is tired. We are trying to embrace it because it will be over in the blink of an eye. Huge thanks to our carpool partners in crime and to all of the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins that are helping out this week with Leah duty and who are coming to a performance. We love you all.

Piggy Tails

Despite the constant whining this chick is so stinking cute.

Love you Beaner.

Quality Time with Beaner

 Seth had a super sized Sunday elf practice so we decided to take Leah to The Crystal for dinner and Tom & Jerry's. The Crystal is very special to Roland and I as it was the location of our first official date way back when. When I was 17, Roland and I were invited to a wedding of a co-worker from Super Duper. He asked me to be his date and asked to take me out to lunch before the wedding. We were both so super nervous about the date that we decided on The Crystal for who knows what reason. It is still very special to us. It means a lot that we can share it with our children. Leah loved it and her special alone time.

Making Daddy extra pretty.

Festive Weekend

 Friday night was our only night off from elf practice so we took full advantage of some down time and stayed put. We built our gingerbread house, ordered in food and watched Christmas movies by the fireplace. It was a picturesque family evening and we loved every minute of it.

Saturday the elf madness returned. Seth had a four hour practice followed by being in the Sackets Holiday Parade and then a visit with Santa. We returned home, lit a fire and watched another Christmas movie. We are definitely in the spirit.