Fantastic!!

That is how I am describing my weekend! For once, we did not have a ton of places to be this weekend. Saturday was St. Nick Day and once the kids got up, they went and got everyone's stocking and brought them our bed. I love it when we all gather on our bed. Alex got a Tech Deck guy, a Bakugan guy and a reindeer that poops candy (he has been begging me for one of these!) Olivia got a Scooby Doo Christmas DVD, Micky Mouse painting book, gloves and lip gloss. I gave myself the Steel Magnolia movie. Jimmy got a movie and a hat. Of course, we all got some candy...not much but some since it wouldn't be St. Nick Day without candy. Soon, my bed looked as though a tornado hit it. Time to get the day started. I ran a few errands but once those were done, home was where my heart was!! Jimmy and Alex went up to the Y for some swim time and me and Liv stayed home and did some laundry. One of my errands this mornig was to the grocery store. We decided to make meals this week that would give us plenty of leftovers and meals that could be prepared ahead of time. But first, Saturday night's dinner. Jimmy and I made our first roux! He has been asking me to make gumbo since the weather turned cold. I prefer jambalaya and that's usually what I make but decided I would make him his gumbo. We usually cheat and use a pre-made roux but we were all out. So, we did it ourself. It turned out excellent!! Emeril's recipe - highly recommend. Of course, dinner wasn't ready until 9 p.m. but that was ok, it's the weekend. I also started working on a Christmas present that I am making for someone. Actually, Alex wanted to help so he worked on it. Jimmy and I also played a few rounds of Tetris. Seriously, we love that game and it's addicting! I was exhausted...I couldn't wait for bed.

Sunday, was even more fantastic. I only got out of my pajamas to take a shower then I put fresh one's right back on. We love pajama days at my house. Alex had basketball practice today. His first and instead of wrestling with keeping Olivia busy, her and I stayed home and Jimmy took him. While home, Olivia and I had an exciting time. She was playing in my room and apparently was playing with the locks. She shut my door and you guessed it...it's locked. I couldn't figure out how to pick the lock and my cell phone was locked in the bedroom so we had to wait until Jimmy got home. I was looking forward to watching a movie in bed but that didn't happen. So instead, I got working on making our meals for the week. I got my chicken cooking for homemade chicken and dumplings (I make bisquick dumplings for all you noodle-dumpling lovers and they rock!!) I just cooked the chicken and got all the meat off the bone. So all I have to do when ready is bring to a boil and throw in the dumplings...dinner is served. I can't wait for that night! I also made chicken spaghetti. That will be tomorrow night's dinner since Jimmy is home with Olivia all day. He can throw it in the oven before we get home. Viola...dinner is served. For lunches this week, I cooked up a fantastic WW recipe of turkey sausage and penne pasta. If you have never tried turkey sausage, I highly recommend it. This dish is very tasty and has become quite a favorite in my house. I wasn't hungry for dinner so instead portioned out containers for lunch. Easy peasy this week! I finally got my house in order and most of the laundry done. I feel like I really accomplished something this week. For those of you who may be freaking out regarding Christmas shopping. 'No, mine isn't done -- in fact, I haven't even started. But, I learned last year that the best time to hit the stores is weekday mornings. After I drop Liv off at school, I hit a few of the places before heading to work. No crowds, no kids...perfect! That will be this week.

So hopefully since my weekend went so well, my week will be just as fantastic. I am counting the days down until I am taking off for Christmas. The kids are off school for 2 weeks and I decided to take time off as well. Woo Hoo, can't wait!! Also, this Friday is my work's Holiday Party. I am looking forward to that! Alex gets to go to the Fox on Friday with his school to see The Rockette's Christmas Spectacular. This is also our last week of Y swimming until January. Now, I am off to try my hand at smocking or maybe just read a few chapters of my book and then to bed.