C.H.A.O.S

Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome...

...because I am buried under a mountain of wrapping paper, bows and self-adhesive gift tags that aren't so self-adhesive.

I can at least use the excuse that I have adorable little elves that help make the mess.

Just Keepin' It Real!

Merry Grinchmas

A suprise visit and the "Ickies"

Uncle Lee and Aunt Gail flew in from North Carolina on the 9th, and left on the 16th. (boo-hoo) I truly miss having them around because they visited, you know, longer than 15 minutes. Have I ever mentioned I love to have company ? Well I do ~ when my house is clean anyway. Call me crazy but growing up in the country, 50 miles from the nearest town or relative makes for some lonely days. My parents probably loved it because they are not really the "social" type but I think I would have liked to have some company every once in a while. So I miss the visits from Lee and Gail.
Unfortunately, we didn't get to visit as much as we hoped because we have taken turns with the stomach flu.

Yes, it felt as bad as it looked.

Matt and I did get to eat lunch at Macayos with Lee & Gail and do some Christmas shopping while my parents watched the kids on Sunday. We missed Grams 90th surprise birthday party *such a bummer due to fevers and such. Lee and Gail were kind enough to spend Monday morning with us before they left. What a nice visit!

I pray they are not stuck at home in North Carolina with a parting gift from the Chinobillys'. We're kind that way you know?

Miss you already Lee & Gail!

Please Excuse The Mess...

...while I give myself a bloggy makeover. Since I can't rearrange my living room I think I'll rearrange my blog.
Got a wild hair to really switch things up. I'll be testing out a "minima" template in hopes it will allow for easier makeovers in the future. You know to make things purty-er as my darling Abby would say.
And since I've spent all this time playing around here, I have procrastinated (neglected) doing the laundry, the cleaning, the presents that need to be wrapped, the baking that needs to be done and letting the puppy out.

Here's to procrastination!

UN-Decking The Halls

This year has been so much fun! I love being able to see life through a child’s eyes…that is MOST of the time anyway. I’ve tried to make our home look a bit more festive than I would have two years ago so I decorated another little Christmas tree in a boot and set it on the hearth in front of the fireplace.

Friday night I was cleaning up the dinner dishes and the house fell suddenly quiet. That is not a good sign in the chinobilly house, as many of you with “little curtain climbers” will agree. So I peaked around the corner of my kitchen into the living room to see the girls UN-decking the cute little Christmas tree.

Oh they are sneaky little creatures. They were plucking the silver balls off of the Christmas tree! Not the entire ornament just the ball.

My guess is their fine motor skills are well developed.

Then they were hiding the “evidence” in the Little People Plane they parked next to the tree earlier that day.

It was one of those moments when I wanted to scream and rant and rave about how hard I work to make things nice but instead I had to laugh (really hard). It was so stinkin’ funny to see their faces when I caught them "silver" handed.

I have since moved the poor little Christmas tree to a higher location. I cannot guarantee how long it will remain safe there either.

Never a dull moment!

What Not To Wear Chinobilly Style:

A few weeks ago I confided to my friend Susie that I want (need) to start looking nicer for my husband. I think I might have slipped a bit too far into the pooped-out-stay-at-home-momma-don’t-care-anymore-look. Susie gladly (maybe a little too gladly) accepted the challenge of helping me out.

One Saturday she showed up at my house ready to raid my closet and do her own version of What Not To Wear: Chinobilly Style. After about an hour of plowing through my clothing and nine bags ready for Good Will later she left me with a weeks worth of clothing. Thank goodness for scrap therapy after that experience! *wink

Susie did promise to help me shop since y’all know how much I loathe clothes shopping. *cringe No really, I HATE, DETEST, ABHOR shopping for clothes. I’m just not model material, nope not at all. Susie on the other hand is “well-made”. She’s got boobs, and no hips…damn her! Hey, MY body’s voluptuous, TOO. It’s just that the voluptuous parts are all in the wrong place. I think the nice big bosom I was MEANT to have wound up on either side of my hips. I’m going to drop a complaint in the suggestion box.
Susie eventually had to drag me kicking and screaming out of the house to update the ol’ chinobilly wardrobe. First stop ~ Applebee’s ~ to get me a little relaxed with a bit of alcohol and give me a full belly (do you think she is out to get me?). Then it was off to the dreaded clothing stores. I practically hyperventilated just walking into Old Navy. No Joke! That place is so…so…well…trendy. I am NOT trendy. That will never be an adjective used to describe me but I’m ok with that. And anyway, we bought one pair of pants. Not the success story I was hoping for. Third stop was Fashion Bug - I guess they were having a great sale - I wouldn't know. I’m in a state of shock by this time and I’m basically letting Sooz take the lead. We ended up spending about 2 hours there. I in the changing room, Susie, gathering anything she thought might work for me.

I’m happy to say we had success and I actually had a good time! Shh…don’t tell Susie I said that. I ended up with several items that I can mix and match and hopefully Matt won’t be ashamed to be seen with me anymore. That is…just as soon as I emerge from the hole into which I’m getting ready to crawl in order to avoid dealing with the whole what goes with what dilemma.
Thank you Susie, for helping me get a bit more fashion sense! You were so much fun to do this with. xoxoxoxo

Thank You Gilbert Family...

for the amazing...

super cool...

FREE swingset!

Our kids are in swingset heaven.