Five on... Saturday!

TGIFFFFFFFFF y'all.

O N E
I feel like every time I come on here to write a Friday post I'm all, "Whew, I'm exhausted." And today is no different.
WHEW, I'M EXHAUSTED.
Which is probably pretty obvious since this started as a Friday post and ended up not being finished until today.  Both kids are sick and 'tis the season I guess.  CK is congested and coughing, and poor E is absolutely pitiful.  We've been so fortunate that he hasn't really been sick in his first year of life, other than one double ear infection over the summer.  For that, I am grateful.  I forgot how pitiful it is to have a sick baby!  I held off as long as I could, but we ended up at the pediatrician's office late yesterday afternoon, which resulted in a croup diagnosis and a shot of steroids.  Fingers crossed we kick all this sickness to the curb so we can continue to enjoy this magical time of year!

T W O
And boy have we been busy enjoying the Christmas season so far! A preschool performance for the nursing home folks, a Bunco/White Elephant Christmas party, a class party, a Children's Christmas Concert at church, making gingerbread houses, discovering our elf Zoombie's shenanigans (he'll have his own post on another day!), and a holiday party at our house for T's staff!  It has been busy, busy, busy and fun, fun, fun.  I know a lot of people complain about the chaos of the holidays, but I love it!  So many fun things, and such an incredible time of year with kids.  Especially when your four-year-old gets a letter in the mail postmarked from the North Pole, and a video message from good ol' Santa, too.  Pure magic, I tell ya.

T  H R E E
And one of my favorite holiday traditions?!  BLOMPS CHRISTMAS!  Last weekend we ventured down to my hometown to spend the weekend with 2 grandparents, 6 children and their spouses, and 8 grandchildren - if you lost count, that is TWENTY-TWO PEOPLE, people.  It is the absolute best kind of chaos and makes my heart so happy to see all of the kids together.  My parents work hard to pick a weekend months in advance so that we can all see each other before Christmas (since we all want to spend Christmas in our own homes these days!).  And it is always such a special weekend. <3 As the sign hanging on my mama's wall says, "You call it madness, we call it family."

F O U R
Inbetween all of the holiday crazy, I am working hard on my little side business, y'all!  I've mentioned on here before that I work with Rodan + Fields, a little something I took on 2.5 years ago that has turned into something so much bigger than I ever imagined!  Anyway, there's a huge incentive program going on right now, and the highest prize in that program is an all-expenses-paid trip that I am DYING to earn. T and I don't ever travel - if we even get out to Olive Garden by ourselves it's a miracle. So the thought of having a getaway for just me and my so-deserving husband?!  Needless to say, I am busting my butt to try to make it happen!  Fingers crossed!!

F I V E
And I am happy to report that I have finally weaned E from the boob!  When he turned one, I just didn't feel ready to wean... and then as we continued, I couldn't decide when the right time was to pull the plug.  Truthfully, I was ready to have my body and hormones back to myself, but since he's likely our last, I couldn't imagine never breastfeeding again.  Long story short, I had to get a steroid shot on Monday and when I told the doc I was breastfeeding, he said, "Not anymore!"  Guess that shot and breastmilk don't mix well.  And honestly, I was relieved that the decision was made for me, so I didn't have to agonize over when the last nursing session would be, etc.  So, that's that!  We made it a little over 13 months, and I am so proud of both of us for sticking to it.

Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope you and your family are enjoying the holiday season!