Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving updates

Well, I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and filled your bellies with turkey and all kinds of yummy things!! :-) Me, I'm STILL full from about 5pm. I enjoyed lots of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, etc etc... I think I ate enough food to last me through the weekend.

Anyway, Thanksgiving Day for me was, well, interesting. It's been go-go-go from the minute I woke up this morning... baking and getting things ready to take with us, then leaving for Russ's mom's house around 12:45pm. We had his mom's to go to at 1, then my parents at 4.

As I said in my previous post, this was the first holiday in a LONG while that we've spent with Russ's brother and their family. I didn't go there with high expectations that everyone would be holding hands and singing songs while swaying back and forth, but I WAS hoping that it would be a bit of a 'new beginning' to get the family back on track.

It was, to say the least, civil. Russ and his brother didn't talk much, but when they DID talk, it was civil. A bit forced, but pleasant. Basically "hi how are you, how have you been" small talk. (It's a start, I figure.) But I felt somewhat that you could have cut the tension in the air with a knife at times. It's just that no one really knew what to say to eachother. I mean, no one's gonna come out and say, "So.... uh...where have you been the past 3 years?" Ugh. I felt like I was sitting there twiddling my thumbs trying to think of things to say. I mean, what do you say to people you really haven't seen in 3 years because your husband and his brother are both too stubborn to give a little and put some effort into mending their relationship?!?!?

And the kids... oh. It just BROKE MY HEART to see them so grown up and to know that all this mess caused me to miss out in the past 3 years of their lives. I mean, the youngest was just a baby when Russ and I got married, so she doesn't know me from a hill of beans. When we walked in Russ's mom's house, she was sitting on the floor playing, and just looked up at us and stared as if she was thinking, "Who are YOU?!" It's just so sad. The girl is 3 years old, I'm her aunt, and she has NO IDEA who I am. The next youngest MIGHT remember me, but I doubt it. She was in our wedding, but was only 2 1/2 or so at the time. The two oldest girl and the only boy are the ones I got to know the most, and so they were talking to me alot, about what they've been up to and everything. It was so great to talk with them and hear about them being in dancing, basketball, singing lessons, etc. They are all growing up so fast and I really don't want to miss out on any more years of their lives!!

Tonight as I got into bed (obviously not able to sleep, being that I'm up writing this now), I talked with Russ about everything. I said, "SO...what do you think about today?" and he goes, "I dunno. It went ok, I guess... it was nice." So then I started talking about the girls and how one of the older ones told me before we left, "I just asked my mom how come we don't see you, Uncle Russell, Alyson and Nana very often." It BROKE MY HEART. I wanted to cry. I told her, "Well, we'll be coming over with your uncle Jon and Aunt Krissy at Christmas!" ANd she smiled and said, "Ok... but you need to come over before then. Come over before Monday, ok?" Then she just smiled and I gave her a big hug, trying to fight back tears as I walked out the door. So tonight when I talked with Russ about what she said, I started crying again and had to get out of bed for some "alone time" just to think. So here I am, blogging away.

This just sucks because I NEVER grew up around any disagreement in my family. I've never had to deal with not talking or associating with family members until I married into Russ's family, so I don't know HOW to deal with it. I just know I miss those kids like crazy and I just hope Russ and his mom and brother can resolve their differences and we can go back to spending more time together again. I know it's never gonna be a perfect relationship, but I'm hoping today was a small step in the right direction for everybody.

Here is a pic we had taken at the end of the day... My mother-in-law's husband's children are on the left hand side in the back. They are all sooo nice! In the front are all Russ's brother's kids :-)

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Hopefully there's ALOT to be thankful for...

Snow, snow and more snow... that was the forcast for today. And it'll be more of the same tomorrow. So needless to say, today I just stayed in my warm house with my little princess and my furbabies while my husband was out working. I baked some pumpkin bars to take to my mother-in-law's house and to my parents' house on Thanksgiving. Figured I'd at least get that out of the way.

Speaking of Thanksgiving... this year ought to be interesting for us. It is the first holiday we're spending with Russ's brother, who we really haven't spoken to in a few years for different reasons I won't really get into. Basically it's just a lot of disagreeing where Russ, his brother and his mother are concerned. I'm basically stuck in the middle, wanting to spend time with my in-laws but wanting to do right by my husband too, ya know?

Anyway, we're going to Russ's mom and her husband's house at 1pm, then to my parents' house at 4. Russ's mom informed us a few weeks ago that she asked Russ's brother to come, and he said he would. She thought Russ would be upset about it, but he's totally fine with it, which is great. He's been wanting them all to just put everything behind them and be a family again, but that just hasn't happened yet. It's starting to between his brother and mother, but it's not quite there yet.

I'm looking forward to seeing their family though... I think it'll be good for everyone to be together for the holidays. I mean, Alyson is 17 months old and she's never met her cousins at all. That just kills me. I really want her to be close with them...they're all such sweet kids. I've thought MANY times about taking Alyson over to see them (regardless of what Russ had to say about it) but when everyone stopped talking, Russ and I hadn't been married long and so I hadn't been around them much...I didn't feel like I was at the point where I could call and just stop by whenever. I dunno.

So maybe being together for Thanksgiving will help things along.I reeeeeeeeally hope so. I'd just hate for them to act weird towards ME... like I said, I just feel caught in the middle of this mess. I don't know why Russ chose not to speak with his brother in the first place. He says it was because his mom would call and talk about what mean things his brother said to her, and Russ was just tired of the whole situation and wanted no part of it. I just wish he, and everyone else, could put the past in the past WHERE IT BELONGS and get along again.

That's my wish for the holidays. It would be SUCH a blessing if it happened.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Aly's Christmas Pictures

Well, picture day at Sears went pretty well, although Alyson decided she DID NOT want to stand on that backdrop WHATSOEVER! She kept running out of the room into the waiting room to see this little baby that was out there! We finally realized that she did best when she was sitting, so most of the pictures we got are of her sitting in this little white wicker chair or on a wooden sled! She'd sit there JUST LONG ENOUGH for them to get a picture, then she'd be off running again. Take chasing after Alyson the whole time, combined with the hot bright lights in the room, and mommy was sweating bullets by the time we were done taking pictures!! It was interesting to say the least. Made me think back to last year, when we plopped her down into this fluffy cream-colored pillow for pictures and she just STAYED THERE. hehe...

So here are the pictures they took... smiling AND crying ones! She cried a few times, but was all smiles again about 2 seconds later.


Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Gettin' that Christmas feeling!

Well, we got our first official snow lastnight. Snowflakes came down on and off during the day yesterday, but it really built up lastnight! There's a decent coating of snow on the ground now! My husband is really happy because that's his livelihood during the winter--- snow plowing and salting parking lots! He was all excited to go out and work lastnight. He's always like that the first time it snows... he gets all excited to go out, but once he's awake for more than 24 hours he's not so happy anymore...lol. He slept for a few hours lastnight and was planning to wake up around 2am and get everyone started on their jobs, but his pager kept going off and his phone kept ringing (how it always is this time of year!) so he's been awake since about 12:30am. Knowing him, he'll just stay up all day and go to bed at, like, 8pm or so.

This snowfall is the first time Alyson's really seen snow! Of course she saw alot last year but she wasn't old enough to remember it or really know what was going on! She was all excited looking out the window yesterday at the snowflakes falling down. She kept pointing and looking at me saying, "Da?" Then of course she's say, "Hi dada"...lol.

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So today is the day I take Alyson to get her Christmas pictures taken at Sears! I'm excited... I hope she cooperates and isn't fussy! She's always a little reluctant at first, but the girls who work there are awesome and so she warms up fairly quickly!

I bought two different Christmas dresses for her this year... one to wear on Christmas Eve and one for visiting on Christmas Day. I bought them about a month and a half ago, and had never tried them on her. They're both 18 mo. so I didn't think there would be a problem with them fitting, but I decided I'd better try them on her lastnight JUST INCASE. So right before she was going to bed, I tried both dresses on her to see which one I wanted her to wear. Luckily I had a backup, because the one dress I got her is still a little too big. I might have to try to put my sewing abilities to good use and take it in a little. It's too cute to take back, and it seems like it'd be an easy fix.

The dress I wanted her to wear for pictures fits pretty well though. It falls a little below her knees, which it's supposed to... and it looks adorable on her. It's all one piece with a little red attached jacket with candy canes on it, and the skirt part has green and red polkadots. The underside is poofy tulle lined in a candy cane print ribbon. I love it! I've been into making hairbows for her, so I made a cute little red and green bow for her to wear. I just hope she keeps it in... she's in that "I don't want anything in my hair and I'll pull it out 2 seconds after you put it on me" stage!! I have to slyly slip it in her hair and then try to distract her so she won't feel around on her head to see if there's something 'foreign' there. LOL.

I'm not sure if I'll get a picture CD of her proofs or not, but I should get a link to sear's site so I can share her pics with all of you. I'll update as soon as I can and let you know how things go :-)

Have a great Tuesday!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

8 things

I got this from Maria's blog and figured I'd do it too...

*8 THINGS*

8 SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH:

1. Law and Order: SVU
2. The Biggest Loser
3. What Not to Wear
4. Desperate Housewives
5. The Young and the Restless
6. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
7. Take Home Chef
8. House Hunters

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS:

1. Olive Garden
2. Red Lobster
3. Applebees
4. Smokey Bones
5. Gaslite (local)
6. Da Peppino's (local)
7. Naple's Spaghetti House (local)
8. Outback Steakhouse


8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED TODAY:
1. did laundry
2. talked to my mom on the phone
3. went out to dinner with Russ and Alyson
4. took a nap for a change (Aly woke up at the buttcrack of dawn)
5. did some christmas shopping (starting early, or TRYING to anyway)
6. updated my blog for a change!
7. played with Alyson
8. watched a movie


8 THINGS THAT I LOOK FORWARD TO:
1. Vacation in the Outer Banks
2. Losing weight
3. breakfast with our friends and their kids every Sunday after church
4. Sleeping
5. Holidays
6. spending time with friends and family
7. having more kids!
8. eventually buying/building our dream home!


8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST:
1. Pay off bills
2. Vacation
3. 1 or 2 more children
4. a bigger house
5. Mother's ring
6. I'd like to have a plot in my yard cleared to start my garden (me too, Maria!)
7. a date night with my husband
8. For Aly to start saying "mama" again!


8 OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES:
1. The Mummy
2. Armageddon
3. Billy Madison
4. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (older version)
5. Labyrinth (LOVED it when I was little too!)
6. Wizard of Oz
7. 40 year-old Virgin
8. When Dreams May Come

Friday, November 14, 2008

The slacker's back

Wow, I guess I am WAY overdue for a post.

I'm gonna try to update the best I can.

For starters, I'll begin with the little princess in my life, Alyson. She's getting soooooooo big, it's so hard to believe. She's turning into such a little lady. Seems like it's something new everyday with her. She's just so curious and inquisitive (which can be good AND bad!) Because of her curiousity, she gets into EVERYTHING. I mean EVERYTHING. To the point where I now have to keep doors closed to rooms I don't want her in, and I feel like I need to padlock all my kitchen cupboards!! See, I'm kinda screwed where the child locks are concerned. The handles to our cupboards are so far apart that I can't find a lock that will fit through them, so that's out... so then I got the plastic ones you actually have to screw into the cupboards, but those wouldn't work either. I was so mad... I put them on my cabinets where I keep my cleaning products and everything, and was all proud of myself for doing so. I then tried to close the cupboard and.... IT WOULDN'T CLOSE!!! So I'm officially SOL where the child locks are concerned.... therefore I now have to resort to tying the handles with ribbons so Aly doesn't ingest Windex or something.

So once that cabinet was locked, she went for the spice cabinet. I came into the kitchen one morning because I heard her banging things around, and she had cornstarch all over the floor.... and all my spices and everything were scattered all over the kitchen. Thank God she didn't bust my bottle of balsamic vinegar I had down there, or then we'd have had problems!!

So the ribbon went on that cupboard too... and I thought I was safe. HA! Yeah right. She now gets in the cupboard with my pots and pans and gets them all out... but her favorite thing now is to get in all my cans/boxes of food. She grabbed the syrup one day, flipped the lid up and started writing on the floor with it. And her OTHER new thing is to push out the dog's water and food bowl holder away from the wall, sit behind it, and put little pieces of dog food into the water and stir it around like she's making soup or something. Unfortunately, she LOVES the dogs' water bowl... she likes to put anything she finds into it. The other day I found my dish towel in there, along with a pen and my sunglasses. (Not to mention I found my cell phone in there awhile back...ARGH.) Yeah. Fun times in the Hunt House. LOL

So most of my days are spent cleaning up the "Aly Bomb" that goes off 24-7. Russ just doesn't understand how I can let her get into everything. He says, "Just tell her no!" (Ha-- if it were THAT easy, parenting would be a piece of cake!) I say, "Honey... you aren't here all day every day with her. If I cleaned up right after her EVERY TIME she got into something, I'd be cleaning ALL.....DAY.....LONG." So as long as she's not getting into anything too crazy, I'd just rather clean it up once instead of 10 times. When I DO tell her no, she smiles, points her finger at me and goes, "No! No no noooooooooooo!" then runs down the hall.

She's saying more things these days, though she understands more than what she says. When I tell her she's getting a bath, she runs down the hall into the bathroom, peeks into the bathtub and starts turning the water on. When I tell her it's time to eat, she'll run up to her highchair... and she knows 'yogurt!' I give her one of those Dora Yoplait yogurts at night, and when I say "Let's get yogurt" she'll run up to the fridge and try to open it. When I open the fridge up, she knows exactly where her yogurt is and will pick one up.

She's babbling alot more.. her little toddler language I guess you'd say. She points to alot of things to show us what she wants, and will babble while pointing to it. She says "No" alot, "yeah", "Hi", "uh oh", "oh no" , "Doh-dee"(which I don't know if it's 'doggy' or 'Cody...Lucy's name comes out more like "Zu Zu") and her big thing she says ALL. THE. TIME. is "Hi Dada!" She was saying mama alot last month, then she just stopped and now EVERYTHING is "Hi Dada!" We'll be in Walmart and some strange guy will walk past and she'll go, "Hi Dada!" and wave at him. LOL. She waves at ME all the time and says "hi dada".... Must just be the phase she's going through now! I tell her, "Ok, you've mastered 'hi dada'... let's move on to 'hi MAMA!'


So that's a not-so-short update on Alyson. For Halloween I took her to my parents' house to help give candy out. She was dressed as a butterfly! We didn't go trick-or-treating, but she absolutely LOVED being dressed up and seeing all the other kids in their costumes! Usually I'd make a slideshow of the pics, but I decided to make a family website, so all the pics I take are posted on there. I had alot of friends/family members asking me to email them pics, so I figured it was just easier to make a website and give people the link and let them know if/when it's updated.

So here it is:

http://thehuntfamily917.shutterfly.com

There are pics of our trip to the Outer Banks on there, plus pics of Alyson from summer til now. A little bit of everything. I'll be updating it again soon... I've been slacking on the picture-taking so I don't have much to post on there as of right now.

Well, I'm getting tired and I should have been to bed a few hours ago. I am SO not a night owl anymore!

More updates soon.