Fun and Busy Times

This weekend has been extremely busy but its been very fun! i have been determined this season to keep my stress down. I have done well the last few years just not making Christmas a stressful season. Even though we are in a VERY busy season of life I have learned to just take it day by day. I have also tried to look at everything on our calendar as a blessing and enjoy it for what it is. 
Friday I had an open day so I met a friend for coffee at Barnes and Noble. I also had some shopping to do there. It was nice to have some friend time. I didn't have much time though to get much done during the day though. 
That evening I had a Christmas party with the teachers at Aurora. It feels so weird to say I have "work" things. We don't usually go out much on Friday nights. I knew I would have fun but part of me just wanted to stay in on a Friday night in my pjs. Austin stayed here with the kids...well actually brought them to dinner then they came here and watched a movie. Needless to say I had a great time at the party. I was there from 6-9. The teachers there are so fun to be around. I love the friendships I have developed through my kids going to school there and now working there. We did a lot of visiting and just nibbling on appetizers. We also had an ornament exchange. When I got home it was after 9:30 and the kids were heading to bed. I got to see them both and kiss them before bed. I was pretty tired myself so it wasn't long before Austin and I hit the hay as well! 
Saturday we woke up and got ready because we had a Santa Breakfast to attend. Its become tradition to attend this at Aurora each year. My parents met us as well since Austin was working. The kids had a good time. Its always neat to see old friends and teachers. We were there about an hour. We stopped to vote on our way home then came home to work around the house and to rest. Lindsay had a b-day party that afternoon but I was glad we had a few hours mid day to just relax. We left our house about 3 to go to the party at BooKoo Bounce. Again we rarely get out late afternoons so this was a treat for the kids. They were quite excited! Colby really didn't have anyone to play with but I think he still had fun. Lindsay had a blast running around with all the little girls in her class. I enjoyed getting to visit with some of the moms. I don't really know any mothers in her class really well so it was nice to get to know them. The party was over at 5:30 so we headed back to the Westbank and met Austin at Chickfila for dinner. It was a perfect way to round out the day! 
Sunday was another perfect but busy day! We had church first of all. Austin and I taught 1st service together. We had 8 or 9 kids. We had a few littles this particular Sunday. I don't want to sound ugly but those are the Sundays I feel like a crazy lady. I mean I love the kids but 2 year olds just really aren't my fav. Its hard to teach a lesson to such a wide spread of kids. The curriculum is also really written for 3-5 year olds. I also feel bad b/c Lindsay is the only 5 year old in the class. She had Makylee but even she is 3 and I feel she is much less mature then Lindsay. Oh well so far Lindsay doesn't complain. She enjoys being in my class and I love having her but I just wish she had more friends her age. She also has Miles who is 4 so that's good. So after church we had decided to have a fun family day. It was our Anniversary. Many thoughts had circled on what we could do this day. I kinda thought a few weeks ago about letting my parents keep the kids and Austin and I would go out to eat but then that would mean leaving them there for both services. Colby would be fine but it would be a lot for Lindsay. Then I thought about just keeping the day the same since Lindsay technically had dance class. Then it hit me we should just celebrate with the kids this year. I thought it would be fun to take them downtown to eat and see the hotel lobbies. We ended up going to lunch at the Gumbo Shop. It was yummy and I think it made the kids feel grown up. After a yummy lunch we went next door to Fleurty Girl. We ended up finding several little goodies there. Lindsay LOVED the store! She is for sure my little NOLA girl! We walked back to the hotel and toured the Ritz! It was my fav! I just love the scenery there. After we did the Roosevelt which was nice too. By the time we got back to the Ritz we were all tired and ready to go home. We got home just in time to relax and watch the SAINTS game. We had a pretty low key afternoon which was nice.