Christmas Re-cap

I'm back!

I took a week (or two) hiatus from the blog to enjoy every last second of the Christmas season.

Days and nights are running together without school to keep us on schedule, but boy has it been fun.

And fortunately for me, the excitement doesn't end on Christmas. I get to celebrate my birthday 4 days later.

This year was one of my most favorite birthdays ever.

The boys woke me up in bed with Starbucks and handmade cards. 

After attending church, I headed out to the mall to hit some after-Christmas sales with gift cards in hand. Then we had a super fun dinner with my sweet friends, Claudia & Alexis and their hubbies.

Check out these amaze-fest shoes Claudia gave me for my birthday!

We went to a Speakeasy Supperclub for dinner. It's hidden inside an apartment complex. When you arrive you have to knock on the door and tell them the password for the night!

This is Brian knocking on the door to the speakeasy.

We had such a great time. Good thing I wore comfortable pants because after everything I ate, I'm pretty sure I gained a few pounds. But it was SO worth it! My 38th year is off to a wonderful start.

And to re-cap Christmas, I created this quick video. I hope you had a fantastic Christmas and I wish each and every one of you a very happy New Year!
  Heckman Christmas 2013 from Stacy Heckman on Vimeo.

Thanks for reading my blog this year. I hope to see you back here real soon.

Cheers!

Life

Life...
It's never quite what you're expecting.

Here we are gearing up for an exciting last few days before Christmas..when the phone rings...and life changes.
We found out last Tuesday that Brian's beloved grandfather had a massive heart attack.
He turned 94 that same day.

His beautiful wife passed away several years ago, and now he is reunited with her in all of their younger glory.
I don't know what heaven is like, but I envision his wife Mary, standing behind Jesus, waiting for him with open arms, running to him with a healthy, exuberant body. I'd like to think they will embrace and kiss and know that they will never have to say goodbye again.

So while our hearts grieve the loss of the patriarch of the family, we will also remember his incredibly brave, heroic, passionate, loving life that he led here on Earth.
We love you Grandpa. And you will be missed until we are reunited with you again someday.

Albert Likens

1919-2013

Wow! What a Weekend!

If my "Claus-O'Meter" wasn't at 100% before last weekend, it definitely is now.

We had three Christmas parties in a row, and boy were they fun.

Friday night, Brian and I went to a business Christmas party. It's always a lively, entertaining crowd, which makes for a great party. But it's also a gift exchange party. Ya know, the ones where you choose a gift and then if the next person wants your gift, they can steal it. And if the next person wants it, they can steal it again. It can get pretty funny.

Brian says I have bad Christmas-gift-exchange etiquette, because I chose our own gift from the wrapped pile and ended up keeping it. Hey, everyone had a chance to steal it, but no one did, so I still played fair. And now we have a hysterical set of Elf (the movie) beer glasses chilling in our freezer. Love em!

Saturday morning, my mom showed up bright and early. Every year since I was a little girl we have gone to see the Nutcracker ballet together. This year, we decided to buck tradition a bit and include Payton. And since Payton is not a little boy who would enjoy attending the ballet, we opted instead for the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular.

I was fairly sure he would love the show since I'd seen it once in NY and loved it. But I was so blown away by how much he truly enjoyed it. Hold on though, let me back-track for a second...

We started out our afternoon by going to lunch at my mom and I's favorite restaurant...Brio. I checked ahead to make sure they had a good kid's menu, and Payton was pleased when his big cheeseburger and fancy french fries arrived at the table.

P.S. You know you're at a nice restaurant when you ask for ketchup and they bring it to you in a special silver bowl.

I have to brag for a second.

Payton was so well behaved during our lunch. He carried on a wonderful conversation about traveling in Europe. Asked lots of great questions. And used excellent table manners. I was beaming to say the least!

 

After lunch we made the short drive to the Performing Arts Center for the show. We arrived fairly early, so we had plenty of time to look around the gift shop, take photos, and...

...go to the candy bar!

 He was very pleased to say the least. And considering he had enough candy to last him through the entire performance plus some left over to bring home to Parker, I was pretty happy too.

I only snapped one photo inside the performance hall because they're quite strict about the "no flash photography" rule. Plus, I was just thoroughly enjoying the show and not worried one bit about documenting it for the blog, Instagram or Facebook. I was living in the moment!

I will say, that if you ever get the chance to attend this show, I highly recommend it. The dancers and singers are amazingly talented and the show itself is so well choreographed and designed, it really takes you to another place. Payton has decided he wants to go every year from now on. :)

After the show, we had our neighborhood Christmas block party. 

Each year, our community does a Santa parade where cars drive throughout the community tossing out beads and candy and collecting gifts for the needy. And of course Santa rides on top of a Fire Engine. The kids absolutely love it.

Of course it's a nightmare to photograph with all the lights, but here's a couple:

We all collapsed in bed that evening, said a sad goodbye to my mom the next day, and rested up only to hit our third Christmas party of the weekend that evening.

Our good friends, the Bravos, hosted a family-friendly Christmas party at their house. The kids decorated foam penguins, played games like "pin-the-nose on Rudolph" and enjoyed an amazing hot chocolate bar.

But to everyone's surprise (wink, wink) in the middle of the party, who should show up??? SANTA!!! 

He came in "Ho-Ho-Ho-ing" and twinkling his bells, carrying a huge golden sack, which we later discovered had a gift for each child in attendance (with their name on each present!).

Parker was so SHOCKED when Santa walked in!

Santa talked to them about Jesus' birthday, being good listeners, and helping out around the house. Then he read them the "Night Before Christmas." He was fantastic!

Santa would take out a gift, call the child by name, and then have them sit on his lap for a picture.

Do you think Parker was just a tad bit happy?

Then all the kids opened their gifts at the same time. It was like a graduation ceremony when everyone throws their black caps in the air...except this time it was wrapping paper flying everyone.

What a truly magical night for everyone. Thank you again Bravo Family for hosting and arranging such a memorable event!

After such a busy and fun weekend, you'd think we'd be hibernating this week. But no...

Tonight we have Cub Scouts, followed by a music recital at school. Then we've got Payton's Christmas school party Wednesday, Parker's school party Thursday, followed by a special early girl's night out birthday dinner for me, and then another weekend of fun-filled Christmas activities.

Phew... is it January yet?

Just teasing. I'm doing my best to savor each and every Christmas event. It's been one wild ride, but I'd do it all again in a second!

Recently...

Time for a photo dump.

These photos have nothing in particular in common, except that they are taken during everyday moments of our lives.

Here we go...

Have you heard? Florida is pretty much the only state having nice weather these days. I am not complaining that it's hovering in the 80's this weekend. I know it could be much, much worse. But secretly, I'd really love for some cooler temps. Ya know, something that makes us want to use our new fire pit, sip on hot chocolate and wear my new boots for crying out loud.

The beautiful weather does provide lots of outdoor play time, which is awesome when you have two little boys. Parker discovered that if he swings with his cape on, it makes it look like he's flying. Yep, I had to pry him kicking and screaming from the swing that day.

In other news, Payton performed in his school's rendition of "The Nutcracker" this week. He sang in the chorus, and did a great job. I was really impressed with the show, considering how insanely frustrating hard it must be to conduct a room full of elementary students.

And a few more random pics to wrap up this post...

This melts my heart. Truly.

This inspires me to do some fun crafts during the upcoming TWO WEEK Christmas break.

This movie. Oh, this movie. I laugh out loud every single year. Vince Vaughn...bravo!

(4 Christmases)

I watched it by myself the other night when Brian was out of town for work. It made the evening seem not so lonely.

Off to #1 of 3 Christmas parties this weekend. Gonna need a lot of coffee to get through them all.

Happy Holiday Parties everyone!

Fun (and FREE) Christmas Websites for Kids

It ain't like it used to be, that's for sure.

When I was growing up, we could hand write a letter to Santa and pray that it arrived safely in hopes that the Barbie Malibu Dreamhome would be sitting on the edge of the fireplace hearth on Christmas morning.

Nowadays, there's a whole lot more options available.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Portable North Pole
 
Here you can create a free personalized video for your child. It includes the child's name, photos of your child, specifics about gifts they want, things they've been working on this year, and so much more. The basic video is amazing, but you can also pay to have added features.
Payton thought this was so neat this year, because Santa emailed it directly to his email address!

Email Santa
 
On this web site, your child can enter their own information into a form letter and it will email it to Santa! Who knew Santa was so tech savvy???

Kids can pick their own virtual "stamp", choose a special treat to include in the email - such as a reindeer food - and many other fun options.

The "waiting" portion of the email process is a bit lame, but it's cute once the email actually "goes to the North Pole." Santa talks to the kids and then does some cheesy dancing, and then... wait for it... Santa sits on a whoopee cushion. I'm sure every kid will find it hysterical.

Norad Santa Tracker
When it gets a little closer to Christmas, it's always fun to track Santa's journey on this web site. My kids were giddy with excitement last year when it showed Santa crossing over the ocean from Europe en route to the U.S.
In the meantime, kids can explore the North Pole, play games on the site and even listen to Christmas music.

Google Images

Or if you want to go low-tech like us, simply Google "Christmas Coloring Pages" or "Nativity Coloring Pages" and you will be blown away with the amount of wonderful free drawings available on the web.

It truly is amazing with today's technology what is available to us. But don't forget, nothing trumps quality time sipping hot chocolate and reading Christmas books together.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Savor the Moment

One of my favorite Mom blogs, Clover Lane, posted this old Erma Bombeck column recently. At first I was hastily reading through it, and then by the end of it I was in tears.

My Aunt Cheryl always tells me to stop and enjoy these loud, crazy moments with young children in the house, as harried and crazy as they may be. Because one day, the house will be quiet and clean and I'll be longing for them again.

Brian has been out of town at a conference this week, so I've been doing the "solo parenting" thing (e.g. collapsing in a exhausted heap at 11 p.m.). I needed this reminder. Hope it speaks to you too...

An Erma Bombeck Column:

A young mother writes: "I know you've written before about the empty-nest syndrome -- that lonely period after the children are grown and gone. Right now, I'm up to my eyeballs in laundry and muddy boots. The baby is teething; the boys are fighting. My husband just called and said to eat without him, and I fell off my diet. Lay it on me again, will you?"

OK.

One of these days, you'll shout, "Why don't you kids grow up and act your age!"

And they will.

Or, "You guys get outside and find yourselves something to do ... and don't slam the door!"

And they won't.

You'll straighten up the boys' bedroom neat and tidy -- bumper stickers discarded, bedspread tucked and smooth, toys displayed on the shelves. Hangers in the closet. Animals caged. And you'll say out loud, "Now I want it to stay this way."

And it will.

You'll prepare a perfect dinner with a salad that hasn't been picked to death and a cake with no finger traces in the icing, and you'll say, "Now, there's a meal for company."

And you'll eat it alone.

You'll say: "I want complete privacy on the phone. No dancing around. No demolition crews. Silence! Do you hear?" And you'll have it.

No more plastic tablecloths stained with spaghetti.

No more bedspreads to protect the sofa from damp bottoms.

No more gates to stumble over at the top of the basement steps.

No more clothespins under the sofa.

No more playpens to arrange a room around.

No more anxious nights under a vaporizer tent.

No more sand on the sheets or Popeye movies in the bathrooms.

No more iron-on patches, wet, knotted shoestrings, tight boots, or rubber bands for ponytails.

Imagine. A lipstick with a point on it. No baby sitter for New Year's Eve. Washing only once a week. Seeing a steak that isn't ground. Having your teeth cleaned without a baby on your lap.

No PTA meetings.

No car pools.

No blaring radios.

No one washing her hair at 11 o'clock at night.

Having your own roll of Scotch tape.

Think about it. No more Christmas presents out of toothpicks and library paste.

No more sloppy oatmeal kisses.

No more tooth fairy.

No giggles in the dark.

No knees to heal, no responsibility.

Only a voice crying, "Why don't you grow up?"

and the silence echoing, "I did."

Gingerbread Decorating & FREE printables

Y'all know what a sucker I am for the beautifully designed free printables that are available on other blogs.

I'm sure it has to do with the fact that I do not have one design bone in my body. So I am in love with what other graphic designers can create. And then when they so generously share them for free... well, it makes my heart do a little dance!

Today, we gathered up the neighbors for a good 'ol gingerbread decorating party complete with some letter writing to the jolly big guy.

I helped Parker write his letter, but then he wanted to "sign" it himself. He was quite serious.

And speaking of serious... this guy wasn't taking any chances. He told Santa how good he's been, plus mentioned that "just in case" he wanted to remind Santa that he wanted an iPad (ain't gonna happen sweet boy).

These adorable "Dear Santa" templates  - along with 11 other amazing freebies - are available on one of my favorite sites, the Tomkat Studio blog.

After we finished our letters to Santa, the kids got down-n-dirty with mounds of icing and tons of candy to create these awesome gingerbread houses.

Can't decide which is sweeter...the gingerbread houses, or my boys!

Happy holiday crafting everyone. :)

P.S. This gingerbread village kit is on sale at Target this week for just $9. There are 5 houses, plus icing, fondant and tons of toppings. It's a great deal!

Christmas Presents Everyday! {A Cheap Idea}

Ahhh...Christmas. Welcome my dear beloved holiday. I have been awaiting your arrival for the past 11 months.

We have rolled out the red and green carpet to invite you into our home and cozy up by the fake fireplace for the next 24 days.

And in case you were wondering, dear sweet Christmas, I intend to make this holiday an intentional one. One filled with meaningful experiences. A holiday focused on the actual reason for the season (hello...you can't say Christmas without Christ.) And one that will not stress me out, but rather allow me to slow down and enjoy the wonder in my children's eyes and the excitement in their hearts.

This Christmas will not drain my bank account, nor will it make me feel guilty for not doing all sorts of "Pinterest-y" things. Yes Christmas, I am going to enjoy the heck out of you for the next few weeks. So, let's start off with a very simple, yet fun Christmas tradition...

A couple years ago I read about this idea on another blog. I wish I could remember where I read it, but since I can't, I'll take full credit for it. Hee, hee.

The idea behind it, is that Christmas can be filled with exciting "gifts" that actually don't cost a thing. Kids just love unwrapping things. Even if they are things they've seen before. This may sound crazy, but trust me... I've seen it with my own eyes!

Every year I wrap up all of our Christmas books. Individually. Then put them all in a basket next to the tree. And every morning, the kids each get to unwrap a book. Sometimes, they unwrap another before bed, just sorta depends on the day.

The concept sounds so simple and silly, but it's crazy how excited they get about it. Now, truth be told, not all of the books are ones they've read before, but probably 85% truly are.

Throughout the year, I keep my eye out for Christmas books. Our library has a great used book store where most children's books are between .25-.50. I'm happy to spend a few bucks throughout the course of a year to get a handful of new books.

Funny enough, they love rediscovering their old books just as much as the new ones. Probably because they've been in storage all year with the Christmas decorations. But either way, it's an inexpensive way to add a lot of fun and excitement to each day during this season. And even if you don't want to wrap all of your books, you could still accomplish the same idea by only taking out one new book each day. Either way, I hope you are soaking up every second of this season. Cheers!

P.S. If you haven't started listening to the Pandora Christmas station yet, please stop reading this blog and immediately do so. It will make you want to drink hot chocolate and eat candy canes all day long.

Friday Favorites

I just got back from the mall. And I'm in a great, holiday-induced mood.

Why?

Because it's Friday. That's the key.

If you can get to the mall on a weekday, during the morning hours, it's SO much better than going on a weekend or an evening.

I wasn't playing Frogger with other shoppers and strollers trying to get across hallways. I didn't have to watch Parker like a hawk in the play area hoping not to loose track of him amongst 40 other snotty, sneezing, coughing little kids. And I felt like yelling, "Well Jimney Christmas! Look at that, would ya?" when I saw that Santa was just sitting up in his perfectly crafted mall-sized Christmas Village all by his lonesome. No kids. No lines. Not one single person. I was quite tempted to just pay the money and let Parker sit in his lap and talk to him till the cows came home, but I didn't. Instead, we just waved from outside the snowy Village fence and said, "We'll see you next week Santa when we come back with big brother!"

Parker was totally happy with that. In fact, judging by how shy he was acting, I'm wondering if we're going to have a total screaming meltdown some crying when I actually do try to get him to sit on Santa's lap. Stay tuned...

Back to my mall experience. It's quite fun to go to the mall right now. All the Christmas decorations are hung. Holiday tunes are blasting over the speakers, every single store is having some kind of incredible "Pre-Black Friday Sale" and with my Peppermint Mocha latte in hand, I was very pleased to knock out several people on my Christmas list in one fell swoop. It was a good day.

In preparation for a fun weekend, I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos from the week. Hope you enjoy!

Parker's Thanksgiving Celebration at his preschool. That's his cute teacher, Miss Tina.

Okay, so they're all blurry, but come on...how cute is this? If Payton lays in the playroom, Mocha immediately jumps out of her cage and snuggles up to him. Who knew bunnies could be so sweet and cuddly?

Payton was chosen to do the flag presentation at Cub Scouts this week. He took the position very seriously and did a great job.

Double tickles! Brian's got skills.

I love this photo. That's Brian standing behind Payton & Parker as they jump waves together. It was such a sweet moment, and the setting was so breathtaking. Nothing like watching your boys play in the ocean as the sun sets.

The kids are out of school next week, so I doubt I will have time to post anything to the blog. But, who knows, they may surprise me! If I don't get back here next week, I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday surrounded by friends and/or loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

Randomness

You won't find any useful tips in today's post.

No helpful recipes or organizing solutions.

Not even a link to another fabulous blog that could help you with something.

Basically, this is just a random post with random photos and random thoughts.

Sometimes I just gotta clear my head by writing stuff down. And lucky for you, this is my creative writing venue these days.

First up...I despise the DMV.

Actually, I don't really have anything against my particular DMV office. Because BOTH (did you read that correctly, I said BOTH) times I have visited them this month to renew my driver's license they have been very friendly.

They sent me away with no new license, but they were friendly about it.

Sadly, I STILL do not have the ridiculously stupid crazy proper documentation to renew my license. Apparently since 9/11 you now have to show certified documents (e.g. no photocopies) of your birth certificate or passport as well as your marriage license if you changed your name when you got married.

So, even though I have my original Social Security card, certified birth certificate and a billion other documents (including my current valid driver's license!!!!) I had to order a certified copy of my marriage license because the one I have is a certified photocopy (stamped and everything). UGH!!!!

Okay, moving on...

As a lot of you know, I am a big fan of Instagram. It's a fun way to show Brian, my parents, and in laws the little things that we do throughout the day, without telling the whole world on Facebook. The only problem in Instagram is that I follow some pretty amazing bloggers. Women who get paid for blogging. Women who are sponsored by companies like Target and Michael's Crafts and Pottery Barn! So sometimes their posts make me feel like I need to get on the ball and redecorate my closet with beautiful wallpaper and a hanging crystal chandelier, or host a fabulous party with color-coordinated striped paper straws, or do some super fun craft with my kids that results in the most amazing Christmas ornament in the world.

Then reality sets in and I think, "None of that is going to happen, so I just need to be happy for them and enjoy what I have in life."

It can be a difficult leap sometimes to go from coveting what others have - especially in this world of social media where everyone's "fabulous" life is shoved in our face 24/7 - to being content with where you are in life. But I am striving to do so. And the first way I am doing this, is not going overboard with Christmas.

My entire family and most of my close friends know that this has been a challenging decade year for us financially. Brian's business has been up and down, and we have to sacrifice some things since I do not work outside the home. I know in my heart of hearts that everyone one of my family members and friends would prefer something heartfelt and special for Christmas over something expensive. I truly do believe that. So, I am making a pact with myself that we will not go in debt this Christmas season just to have extra wrapped gifts under the tree. My gift choices will be special, meaningful, and something the person will really use/want.

Okay, last bit of randomness for you today...

Here is a picture dump from the last week or so. Some are from IG, some are new. Either way, I hope they bring a smile to your face. :)

We were invited by our neighbors to go sailing last weekend. They have a huge, beautiful sailboat with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living area, bathroom/shower...it's amazing. The weather was yucky all day, and then just as we all boarded the boat and left the marina, the sun peeked through the clouds and we had a beautiful sunset sail.

(L to R) Me & Brian, our neighbor Kathie, the boat owners, Tom & Bahama, and Kathie's hubby, Brad. Not pictured are our other neighbors Kristen & Dave.

Tom actually let Brian put his hand on the wheel for a few minutes. Ha! Ha! But Kristen sailed us most of the evening.

Brian & Dave sitting on the front of the boat.

Speaking of sunsets, we've had some amazing ones lately. Beautiful pinks and purples in the sky. This particular evening, the sun was setting just right over the pond outside our house. We told Payton & his friend Avery to stand together for a picture. This is what we got:

How precious are they??

And for no particular reason, I give you two adorable shots of my little guy...

I'll never get tired of seeing this tiny tushie in tiny underwear. TOO cute!

We were walking on a fishing pier and he just grabbed my hand. I don't ever want to forget this moment.

Another moment I'd like to tattoo in my memory is watching Payton lead worship in his church class. He knew every word, every motion to the song. He led with such enthusiasm and happiness. I can only pray he continues to so openly share his faith with the world.

See, I started off this post in a pretty bad mood. But now I'm ending it with such a warm, grateful heart. Writing is so therapeutic for me. But so is looking through a week's worth of pictures. I appreciate you sticking with me even on these not-so-exciting posts...because sometimes, 

life is a box of un-sharpened number 2 pencils...

 

...and sometimes it's a box of Mr. Sketch scented markers.

 

Today, I'm gonna make it a vibrant, scented-marker-kinda-day! 

{Promise I'll be back next time with a more useful post...and less bad analogies} :)