WRAPPED UP

I am sitting watching one more bowl game.

Me at home on a Friday night is unusual. 

I do have some good company though....

#2 had her wisdom teeth removed yesterday and so today has been a very laid back lazy day. 

She is doing great. I have taken a lot of pictures and will share once the swelling comes and goes.

Tomorrow is supposed to be her "big" day, but so far her swelling isn't all that impressive.

We had a great Christmas,

but,

I CANNOT BELIEVE IT HAS COME AND GONE!

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The "new" thing to wear to school is "vintage" Christmas sweaters and sweatshirts.

 Funny, not too many years ago, Christmas sweaters were stylish and pretty, not tacky. The more bells and whistles (literally), the better. The two older girls, have had "Tacky Christmas" cocktails in their sororities since being in college and now the theme has made its way into the high schools. 

 #3 was in need of some Christmas attire her last days of school before her break. 

When my mom died, I kept a lot of her clothes and luckily, she had a lot of Christmas things. 

On the last day before exams, #3 and her friends decided to have a "Tacky Christmas Day".

Barrett wore her grandma's Christmas sweater to school.....

I don't think it is tacky, a little old fashioned, maybe, but either way, I loved seeing her in it!

There is a nursery just outside of our neighborhood.

It is one of my favorite places on earth.

It is where I get all of my flowers for my beds and pots in the spring.

The green house goes on forever and they always have the prettiest and best selection of annuals.

I especially love going there during the holidays.

It is almost one of the most Christmasy places I know.

All of the greenhouses are filled with rows and rows of poinsettias.

I am amazed every year at just how many varieties there are.

It has become such a popular destination for Christmas card pictures, they have set up several different areas with different themes.  

I wanted to get all three of my girls there at the same time this year, but our schedules just didn't work out that way.  In fact, these pictures weren't taken on the same day.  I took #1 and #3 on different days. #2 never made it there this year because of her work schedule. 

(By the way...this is the first year I didn't send out Christmas cards since being married!

I still feel so guilty about it.)

I just love this place.

I love making my cup of hot chocolate outside in the cold and then wander around inside looking at the rows and rows of flowers.  

Christmas Eve is our family time.

We had a quiet dinner at home.....

beef tenderloin on the grill.

 The girls gave Art a personalized carving board for Christmas and since we were grilling on Christmas Eve, they let him open it early.

He loved it!!

#3 kept warm while he cooked.

We always sit at the coffee table and watch a Christmas movie on Christmas Eve.

Charlie watches the food!

On Christmas Eve we open one present...... our Christmas PJ's.

Art was very excited that his jammies were shorts..... he gets so hot while he is sleeping.

Have I ever shared that my girls don't call me mom, momma, mother or anything else normal?

They call me Momason.... actually spelled "Mama-son".

I looked it up:

The term originally comes from Japanese, where it is a term for a woman who works as a supervisor at a bar, nightclub, or similar business....The term mama-san in Japanese is emphatically not a polite reference to a mother, and should never be used as such....The term is also used to refer to a woman who works in a supervisory role in certain establishments in Southeast Asia, typically those related to drinking places.

I don't know how it started, but it is something that just happened a long time ago.

It is so normal to us and we have forgotten about how strange it sounds out in public. 

At the grocery store during Chirstmas we had the bagger very confused...

he kept looking back and forth at all of us and finally asked...

"Are you Japanese?"

Anyways,

I got some really nice PJ's....

pink cheetah print!

No Christmas Eve would be complete without a picture of the three B's in their jammies.

This year they came from Eddie Bauer.

The girls love them and say they are so comfy. 

(thanks for being there dad!)

Lola didn't get PJ's, but she loved sleeping in her Christmas scrunchies.

We went to my dad's house for my family's Christmas late Christmas Day.

A few days later we headed to the beach for a few days of rest and to celebrate with Art's family.

The sunset from the bridge is alway spectacular! 

The after Christmas sales at the nearby outlets were pretty spectacular too!

Happy New Year!