on the eve of

Merry Christmas, Love the Cox's!

(for all of those not on our mailing list)

the children are nestled all snug in their beds.

the presents are out.

the cookies have been eaten.

stockings are stuffed.

ronald and i are cuddled up in bed watching christmas vacation.

we woke up this morning to a note from

tootie (our friendly elf).

 she told the girls goodbye and

left them pj's for tonight.

brette told me they weren't cute and she wasn't wearing them.

true to form, she went to bed in doc mcstuffins jammies.

she's trying to kill me.

i have my fingers crossed i can talk her into them

in the morning so our pictures are cute, but

i'm not holding my breath.

we went to church this afternoon and

then made an evening of looking at the lights.

we stopped by the magic tree and 

then drove out to brookside where

they really know how to decorate for the holiday.

by the time we got home, we had enough time to set 

out cookies, (we made some the other day just for santa)

put on jammies and read

'twas the night before christmas.'

it was a really fun night and i wouldn't mind

making it a tradition.

  

tomorrow i'm in charge of dinner.

yikes.

i have a turkey ready,

dressing made,

potatoes done,

and rolls frozen.

all i have to do tomorrow is bake a pie.

i feel ready.

i'm really hoping for a chill, stress-free morning.

i want to enjoy santa with my kids.

i hope you're enjoying christmas to the max!

(first, our cookie adventures)

(and tonight, church and lights)

Joy to the World!

sing and be merry

christmas programs are now at the

top of the list for favorite things.

literally - my favorite.

brette's little three year old class sang 

silent night, up on a rooftop and 

we wish you a merry christmas.

as a parent when you see your kid 

walk down the aisle of your church 

like such a big girl,

with prayer hands and a big smile, well,

its everything i've ever wanted for christmas.

and then she actually danced and sang, which

i really thought she would clam up and do nothing,

so it was such a sweet surprise.

the actual sound that comes out is more

like yelling chaos, but that just adds to the charm.

i'm already so excited for next year's performance.

i think i would send my kid to school 

just for the christmas program.

it really doesn't get any better.

meanwhile, my littlest turned up her cuteness so 

she wouldn't be outshone by her sister.

how freaking adorable is this???

mimi introduced her to hand lotion.

excuse me while i watch these on repeat and

die of cuteness overload.

december birthday brownies

my niece turned ten last week and we 

didn't get to celebrate with her over the weekend since

we were out of town at a wedding.

instead, we headed over to their house during the

week with a little gift and a sweet treat.

i made smore poke brownies.

have you ever made a poke cake?

it's like that, but with brownies instead.

can you say, ooey-gooey delicious?

they were amazing.

everyone loved them,

even ronald, who never eats dessert.

and to make it better?

they're so easy to make.

buy a box of brownies and make them

just like the directions say.

when they come out poke holes all over and

pour marshmallow fluff on top.

the marshmallow seeps into the brownie making 

it pretty much the best thing that has ever happened.

put the brownies into the fridge to let cool.

meanwhile, crush up some graham crackers.

i think i crushed up somewhere between 4-6.

whatever covers your brownies. 

i also warmed up some hot fudge.

after like 10 minutes, i pulled the brownies out

topped with graham and drizzled a bit of hot fudge.

you can stop there - because that's amazing OR

you can cut marshmallows in half and place on

top of the graham crackers. (or just use mini marshmallows)

then broil until marshmallows are golden brown.

(i didn't do this step because i didn't realize but the marshmallows 

we have in the pantry are fruit flavored.)

i saw this recipe on facebook - here's the video.

and here are mine:

winter wedding

one of my friends from college was married

over the weekend in jefferson city, so

ronnie and i dropped the girls off at my parent's

and made a little overnight trip of it.

it was so fun and the i loved the venue.

the bride was gorgeous and i got to hang

out with margie and all my sorority sisters -

which i never get to do, but love.

too much beer and a dry dz ride later,

we made it back to our hotel for a long winter's nap.

 

 

 

 

 

unfortunately, my parents were not having the same luck.

both kids were sick.

running fevers and couldn't breathe.

so instead of enjoying an actual guilt-free night away

with, dare i say, breakfast to follow, i got a text from

my dad letting us know that they had

a rough night and so did the girls.

of course that would happen.

so bright and early, ronnie and i hit the highway

back home to get two sick kids from my parents.

i've spent the last few days at home with them and

called into work monday so i could take them

into the doctor to see what was up.

ear infections, pink eye and a cold.

great combo.

i hate colds.

there's no medicine that helps,

they last for weeks and

someone always needs a tissue.

but we now have eye drops and antibiotics, so even

though the cold remains, the pink eye and ear infection

seem to be getting better and better.

we have family christmas on saturday and sunday, so

i need them feeling great and soon.

 

 

ps- ronnie is sick now too. awesome.

preparations

for being christmas time, we've actually

had a pretty chill week.

i'm surprisingly prepared for the holidays.

my house is decorated.

my tree is up.

and every. single. one. of my presents is bought.

well, i don't have the girls' stocking stuffers done,

but that's so easy.

i ended up going black friday shopping by myself.

i had a few hours before i needed to be into work.

brette was in school and ronnie had reid.

it was incredible.

i got a lot bought and it was nice to have some

"alone" time to do it.

plus, i didn't feel like the crowds were bad, but

i've always been a fan of black friday shopping.

nothing is wrapped.

 in fact, everything is sitting in my bathtub 

because the girls rarely go in there.

so i still have that, but

there's no point in getting it done super early

because i would never put them under the tree.

reid would have them destroyed in 5 minutes.

she spends a lot of her time taking down the

ornaments and the poinsettias i have in my garland.

i pretty much redecorate several times a day.

i plan on making cookies with the girls the week 

before christmas so we can have special treats to leave for santa.

we also need to take the girls to see the magic tree and

maybe swing through christmas at the park to see all

the lights if the line to get in isn't too outrageous.

we have christmas with my family scheduled, cookie day and

christmas with ronnie's family on the calendar too.

it's the 8th of december and i am ready.

i can't believe it. 

i feel like i'm forgetting something really important.

am i?

hmmmmmmmm.

here are a few pics of the girls from the past week.

brette being sweet and then...

brette being brette.

and reid, bundled up 

ready to run errands with me.

we're never getting rid of that pacifier.