Birthday!

Ohhh me, I am 33!  My family always feels bad for me that my birthday is 3 days after Christmas so they shower me with presents.  The thing about your birthday being right after Christmas is really all I want to do is nothing.  Or maybe even work on my new planner, make some lists, de-clutter and clean my entire house all by myself.  Talk about an old fart.  Thankfully, my boys were not going to let that happen!  They woke me up with breakfast in bed, let me play all their new games, get a massage, and Charlie took me to one of our old favorite dinner spots, Nana's.  It was low-key and perfect.  And in extra exciting news I think we passed around the shortest stomach bug ever and we are gonna be nice and healthy to start the new year, please, please, please!

I'm getting nuttin' for Christmas...

And finally, our family Christmas.  We decided last Christmas that on Christmas Eve we will always stay in Chapel Hill.  A new Farris Family of five tradition.  Charlie works on Christmas Eve day, the kids are all bonkers and I am in freak attack mode making sure Santa Clause has gotten our lists and checked it twice!  This year was still all of the above but nice to have the children nestled all snug in their own beds…

It was 70 + degrees, our neighbor sent  a message that the dudes were heading to the UNC turf fields to play some soccer.  We put on our jerseys and headed that way for an energy busting morning.  Christmas in Dixie.

Christmas Eve day lunch, Jersey Mike's of course!  I spot a Theo.

Merry & Muggy.  The boys got some flag football gear as a gift!  I am hoping this helps tame the tackling.  A Christmas miracle?

Pre-Christmas Eve church service picture.  It went something like this, 'Look at dad, stand up straight, smile, stop moving, do you want to open presents, hope Santa isn't watching…'  Christmas cheer.

We used up all of our snacks and distraction tricks during the first hymn.  Jackson was the only one who made it through the Christmas eve service.  The others were escorted out to fight in the hall.

Family present time.  We open presents from brothers and mom & dad after church on Christmas Eve.  Nash was particularly pumped about this one.

Sweet Theo enjoyed playing us some tunes on his new piano and reading 'A BOOK! A BOOK!'  Third kids are hard to shop for, glad he loves a good book.

Settling in!

They left Santa a card, a really old gingerbread house that Jackson made at school and said he could drink the milk from the carton.  We need to work on this.

He came!  Favorite gift - the hot dog / ice-cream stand.

We headed to Goldsboro for our annual family luncheon with my dad's entire side of the family.  It's always a good time.  This was the only picture I took.  Unfortunately, Jackson and I did not feel that well, think we had a little stomach bug or a case of the way too much to eat and drink the past week!

Afterwards we headed over to Papa's house.  Theo played us some more tunes on the piano.

Nash  worked the grill again with Uncle David.  Not pictured - Jackson & I snuck upstairs for a snooze.  All this Christmas love is wearing us out.  These are the good ol days.

Merry Christmas!

A weary world rejoices…

numero dos

After Farris family Christmas we hurried back home to start wrapping and prepping for Winslow family Christmas.  This isn't just any old Christmas, our cousins are here from California!  They stayed with us a couple of nights before heading to Wilson and then we joined them last night for a Christmas extravaganza.  

Sweet cousins at airport pick-up!  Theo and I stayed behind prepping for dinner.

First stop for lunch, the one, the only, Jersey Mike's!  And the only acceptable place to take 6 wild cousins.  Lunch and entertainment all for one low price.  

We celebrated the sweetest little rascal, Miss Brooklyn Love turning 2!

Making Christmas tree cookies with Aunt Sarah…

An adults only family dinner at City Kitchen!  This has been a long long time coming.  Cousin Josh and his girlfriend Nikki joined us.  

AND our babysitter sent this picture.  Everyone bathed, in pajamas, on the couch, kind of looking at the camera.  Ah-mazing.  She was working it for some extra cash. ;)

Rainy day energy busting fun at Kidzu.

We decided not to buy this one.  Pretty awesome none the less.  Sorry Theo & Nate.

Cooking with Tat. They will give big hugs when gingerbread man decorating is involved.

Group shot!  Christmas card worthy!

And then right around bed time Nanny Nat wanted a picture of all her babes in their dalmation pjs…  It went really well.

I am always up for some sweet tired out paci loving snuggles.

Home again, Home again, jiggity-jig-jig.

First one down...

Christmas at Grandmama and Granddaddy's house was this past weekend!  We headed to Wilson  for some serious cousin playtime, church and the best Christmas 'eve' dinner around.  Then we all stayed up too late and got up too early for some breakfast casseroles, present opening, serious cousin playtime and the best Christmas 'day' lunch around.  Tis the season!  A few pictures of this Farris family goodness.

Spaghetti! "THEEEESSSSE"

Post dinner chill movie time.  Or you can stand on the coffee table in your turtle neck and tennis shoes. Whichever is more comfortable, up to ya.

Adults fancy dinner.  Cheers!  I spot a sneaky rascal. 'I wan BITE!' 'A BITE!' 'BITE!'

'Christmas' morning.  The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

Rolos, It's what's for breakfast.

Grill master Nash and his sidekicks.

One Week!

One week till Christmas!  The boys have a countdown Christmas tree and they can't believe we still have 7 more days!  I can't believe the most wonderful time of the year is here!  We have lots of dinner parties and school programs and gift giving going on around here.  Last night at dinner Jackson told me it was so cool that we get presents for Jesus's birthday so that is one thing he was thankful for.  Me too, thank-you Jesus for all this goodness!

So, this isn't what I had in mind when going to get white lights for the bushes.  They win again.

Pics

Just some iPhone pictures of my boys that I would like to print out and put in a frame.  But seeing as I haven't replaced any pictures around here in a good 4 years I figure no need to start now.  Thankfully they all looked the same as babies.  We are going for the 'vintage' look.  Or maybe I see a New Year's resolution in my future…

Theo charming everyone up on the dance floor, raising a cup cake to the bride and groom.

  Sleeping babies / kids are the best.  Nash still creeps in our room a few nights a week.  I hear his bedroom door open and then slam shut and him sprint to our room.  He quietly (too late now babe) nuzzles his way right in the middle and goes right back to sleep.  

My big guys at Jackson's first hockey game.  These two are true gamers, all day, all the time, all the questions.

Evening football,  inside, way too close to the tree. The children were nestled all snug in their beds...

Suppa' Clubbin'

 Saturday night we hosted the first neighborhood supper club at our house.  When I signed on in October I thought this would be a perfect fun and festive time to host and this would give me a good reason to get things done around the house!  I did not factor in Charlie going to Vegas the 3 days before the party or the fact that I have 3 kids.  I was a little overwhelmed Saturday morning so I drank a few cups of coffee ate brownie batter for breakfast and sent all of the boys to Wilson.  By 7:00 pm the house looked decent and we had food and drinks coming out of the wood work.  Tis the season to be Jolly!!

Loving our 'hood, almost everyone…group shot!

Grandmama treated these guys  to breakfast with Santa with sweet Carinci Cousins.

Jackson and Nash spent the night at Grandmama & Granddaddy's house.  They had a tiny bit of fun.

And this little charmer spent the night at Tat & Will's house.  He did whatever he wanted.

love note

I had one of those days the other day, as I often do.  Patience is a virtue, one that I am really trying to work on.  I smile as I look back at my somewhat organized, clean, on-time self and wonder if God chuckled when he blessed me with these 3 boys and their dad.  They put me out of my comfort zone a lot.  I get frustrated, and yell, a lot.  I apologize to a 5, 3 and 1 year old, a lot.  Jackson gave me this note the other day in a sealed envelope.  He had been in the other room 'taking a break' aka time-out from his brothers and the ever present fighting.  I read it, felt my heart swell and soaked it up as one of those parenting-fail and parenting-win moments.  

'I love you mom.' 'We are hugging each other or giving a high five or a pound or wrestling, haha.'

Ho!Ho!Ho!

We got to see the real Santa Clause last week!  He put on his best Tar-Heel blue since we were at a benefit for Super Cooper's Little Red Wagon Foundation.  The big guys were all about it this year.  Jackson wants a Transforming Batcave and Nash a mini Light Saber with M&M's in the handle.  They told him they would share both.  :)   Santa was pumped and thinks he can make that happen!  Theo gave him a high five and ate 16 Hershey kisses but wasn't having his picture taken with some stranger.  We might try again next week.

Oh Christmas Tree!

We got our Christmas tree early this year, for us at least.  December is a busy month so I kind of just wanted to get our Christmas decor up and done.  The boys picked one out, nothing fancy and we all decorated it, nice and tacky.  We put a rope around that bad boy and staple gun it to the windows in hopes of no mishaps.  Tis the season…

Christmas card attempt while picking out the tree.  It was a no go.  'I look like I am taking a huge dookie!' -Jackson

My first sweet little boy still puts on the star.

Up and decorated and in our Christmas jammies bribed with ice cream sandwiches for another card attempt.  Greta wanted in on this one.  Poor Nash, middle kid probs.

CSA

We are still getting a weekly CSA from Green Button Farm.  I have enjoyed it but I am really looking forward to taking a break from it for a while.  My kids don't like collards or cabbage or kale or mustard greens or sweet potatoes or beets or acorn squash etc...  And I am kind of over it myself.  Sometimes you just want a big ol batch of ground beef marinara sauce without having to think of ways to sneak some veggies in there before they go bad.  Here are some of the 'keeper' recipes we have done this fall -

Spaghetti Squash with Bacon, Spinach & Goat Cheese.
Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup.
Butternut Squash, Mushroom, Kale & Sausage Fritatta.
(We did a lot of fritattas with a whole lot of cheese)
Sweet Potato, Sausage Soup

And lets be real what I really like to do is go out to dinner with friends.  We have had a few wine dinners lately that we won through a silent auction.  Last week was Oval Park Grille in Durham, yummmm and last night was Coquette in Raleigh, holy yummy.  In both of these cases the food and fellowship was worth the headache.  Rise and shine MAAAMMM!

Who you talking bout mom?!

school pics!

Theodore Joseph - Resurrection PMO's Class, 1 years old

Nash William - Resurrections 3's Class, 3 years old

Jackson Arthur Farris - Creekside, Kindergarten, 5 years old

Look at these studs!  Starting bids at $10 a piece.  I only have 4 wallet sizes of each.  You have to place your order before you see the picture, talk about risky.  I didn't feel like having 63 leftover pictures that I would have to keep crammed in a drawer and feel bad about throwing away next year.  I think they turned out pretty good.