My Christmas Shopping List & Christmas Cards

Since, no one in my family reads my blog or would ever know how to find it, I can go ahead and post my Christmas shopping list. This is just a rough draft. I would love for anyone and everyone to give me more great ideas. In the meantime, this is what I have come up with so far. In no particular order...


For Crazy Debby Decot (also known as my mother) an iPod shuffle. So, I can have mine back and she can continue to run while trying to dance and sing at the same time. I am thinking in the green color .

For Mandi and Chris (SIL & BIL) not a random picture of people we don't know, but some nice framed photos of us and Aidan because that's what they asked for.













For my youngest brother Jordan, Jordy, J-Money, Sweetest baby brother EVER, A Vineyard Vines Clemson Tie.



For the two best brothers in the whole world...this picture framed for them both so they can remember the good ole days when we're older.


For Bobby, The $20 Ikea Flat Screen Wall Mount, because the gift below will only hold his cable box and gaming system.



Also, for the best two younger brothers in the world, TV stands from IKEA because well Santa might be bringing them Flat Screens this year.

For The Best Dad in The World...I have secretly emailed his best friend from childhood to get a copy of this picture to get framed because he loves it. Yes, my dad is the one in the boat smoking. Kennybunkport, Maine circa. A Long Time Ago




For my amazing husband who is always thinking about things to do with his son, a basketball hoop. Mostly because he will love it and never expect it. Think I can assemble one of these bad boys myself in the dark??

For my lovely in laws who sadly won't be here for Christmas. A stainless steel toaster. They are converting all of their appliances and when I asked them what they wanted, this is what the stated. Simple enough and on sale at Target. How convenient.


Now this is where I am stuck people...what do you get the child that has it all and who also has a mother that is running out of space to put things?? Adam and I were thinking a puppy but don't you think he's a little young? I mean, a puppy for Aidan to look at and mommy to take care of? I don't want a puppy for Christmas ( I want a gold Marc Jacobs watch) so the hunt is still on. Adam would really like to build a train track around the top of his room. Still not exciting me. Daddy goes to work and mommy has to stand on her tippy toes on top of a step stool to help the screaming two and a half year old that wants to play with the train going around in circles at the TOP of his room! Yeah, no thanks.

Well, I have created about 10 versions of a Christmas card but I have narrowed it down to my five favorites...I know, FIVE. Luckily, I can buy them in increments of 20 and I have about one hundred people on the list so...this is what I came up with...let me know what you think!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My fridge is packed full of leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole, chicken & dumplings, cornbread stuffing and pecan pie. The front door is WIDE OPEN if anyone is hungry.

Adam's parents spent their last night with us and headed to his sister's today. The "guest room" furniture has all been put back in place and the fall decorations have been put away. Down from the attic came the beginning of the Christmas decorations. I forgot I had bought wreaths on clearance last year for all of the windows. I was just thinking this morning I would buy wreaths for all my windows so when Adam brought them down, I was so excited. I just need to find some red velvet ribbon to make bows for them. My mantle is finished. Pictures will be up as soon as the house is decorated and we have purchased the tree. This season I have learned to re create every expensive holiday decorating idea at Garden Ridge for such reasonable prices. I am pretty proud of myself.

I am still working away on Aidan's room. I can't wait for his bed to get here. Adam's mom finished one of his pillows and it is positively adorable. Again, pictures will be up as soon as we get closer to being finished.

I have a very busy day tomorrow getting ready for the Fashion Show and First Annual Pageant at the store on Sunday. We have over 90 kids participating. I am excited for it to come and be done. It has been so much work and I am burnt out. Seeing all of the hard work come to fruition will hopefully be worth it. Sometimes dealing with over one hundred moms is a little difficult. Haha.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Thankful Thursday on Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll!!! It's Thankful Thursday and I am writing this post Wednesday night because we are getting up early to head to the Carousel Parade and then to my parents. So, this year on Thanksgiving, I'm keeping it simple.

1. I am thankful for my family. My side and Adam's. We have great people that surround us and love us unconditionally. There are way too many people out there who aren't lucky enough to have a family to celebrate with.

2. I am thankful for a roof over our heads. I know I often talk about how I wish the house was just a little big bigger or improvements that could be made, but honestly it's a great first house and heck...it's almost paid for!!!

3. I am thankful for our health. So many families are sitting in a hospital room for the holidays and we realize we are more than blessed to not have to do that.

4. I am thankful for our friends. They are our second family and our sanity.

5. Last but not least, I am thankful for my boys. I don't really remember what life was like before either of them. I am so thankful that I get to spend everyday being a part of their family.

From the Harvey House to yours...we wish you a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Thanksgiving has officially begun

The in laws have been here since Friday and we are having a great time! My mother and law and I had a few projects we wanted to work on so we headed to the fabric store and purchased the fabric we wanted to use to make Aidan's throw pillows for his new big boy bed. I cannot wait for them to be done...I'll post pics at the end of the week. We grocery shopped for our meal and tonight the cooking has begun. We are having a big ole' southern Thanksgiving meal. Here's the menu:

Turkey
Honey Baked Ham
Chicken & Dumplings
Sweet Potato Casserole
Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Macaroni & Cheese
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie

Yum!! I cannot wait. I still have to iron my monogrammed dinner napkins and place mats. I found the best artificial pumpkins at Wal Mart last night (while I was there buying a new microwave) on clearance for a buck. They are exactly what I wanted from Pottery Barn but with a MUCH BETTER PRICE TAG. I ended up being thrilled with my centerpiece. I have all my holiday candles ready to go so just in case the food doesn't get this place smelling good enough I will be prepared. I highly doubt that will be a problem. The whole fam is snuggled up on the sofa now watching TV but I better get off of here and get a good night sleep. I have to be extremely domestic tomorrow. HAHAHA. Happy Tuesday Everyone!!! xoxoxoxo

Love this...

A girl I went to middle school with has a really cute blog called une journée dans ma vie... . Her name is Celine and she lives in San Fran. She is super crafty and is smack dab in the middle of planning her wedding and has some really creative ideas for DIY wedding planning. Check her out. In the meantime, she had this posted on her blog today and I love it so I had to steal it to put it here on my blog. It seems fitting for the my (our) life these days.

ATTENTION: Milestone in the Harvey House

Well, I knew the time would come...but I didn't know I would be so sad. Haha. Aidan's crib has been put in the attic and his big boy bed is all set up!!! I remember when we bought that crib and brought it home and Adam put it together in the living room only to realize that it wouldn't fit through our doorways so he had to take it all apart and put it back together in the nursery. Haha. Good times and one million screws. I also remember thinking "OMG, will he ever want to sleep in there" when we brought him home and then how much I cried when he was three months old and LOVED his crib. It was too soon for him to sleep in the nursery alone and it feels too soon for him to be sleeping now in his BIG BOY ROOM! I am still working on finishing some stuff up and as soon as it's all done I will post some pics for you all. The next time I see our crib, a new baby will be on the way. Crazy to think about. Exciting at the same time. Our little family of three with grow to four. Ahhhhhh...I can't wait. In the meantime, I am going to enjoy my baby growing up and spending his first night in his big boy bed.

Thankful Thursdays!!!

Ok...so I know I was a little whiny yesterday...but I am still incredibly THANKFUL for a lot of things...like these

1. Adam already has two new job offers and his boss called from his last job and wanted to know why he wasn't there (well because Kevin gave me the boot). Long story short...the lost job may not be lost after all. **Side note. I absolutely love getting to spend this time with Adam when he would otherwise be at work. He is the BEST HUSBAND and I am so proud to be his wife.

2. Aidan's funny new sentences like "mowa sheesh" more cheese ; "yes pease mama" (yes please mama) ; "bye nana, bye papa (grandpa), bye house" (when leaving from there the other night); and when I said to him today "Aidan do you like your new big boy bed ?"...he replied "No Way Mama". He is too cute.

3. I am thankful for my hubby who picked up the fruit tray I ordered from Harris Teeter and took it to Thanksgiving at Aidan's school and because he told me I was a great mom because the other mom who signed up for another fruit tray forgot hers. (I know that will be me some day).

4. Kathy Harvey. My MIL. She is going to make her sweet potato casserole for me on Saturday to "taste test" for Thanksgiving because she knows I have had a bad week and that I LOVE LOVE LOVE her sweet potato casserole.

5. Garden Ridge. They had the round rug I was dreaming of for my kitchen floor AND at a great price.

Happy Thursday Everybody!!! Next week is Thanksgiving!!! Cannot wait!!! xoxoxoxo

Life's Hard

Things are not going so great around the Harvey household. I know it's annoying to complain about it but honestly, sometimes instead of venting to someone, I just want to write to vent.

Adam is jobless AGAIN. The economy is effecting us once AGAIN. I am having anxiety once AGAIN about how we are going to make it until he finds something else. My hours at work just aren't cutting it. I am probably going to have to go back to work full time. I don't mind helping out at all, it's just really frustrating to be married to someone with the best work ethic on the planet and him not be able to make it through every lay off on the planet during this rough time in the economy. Let go of someone that takes personal days or goes on vacation...because my husband doesn't do that. He's entirely too worried about taking care of us.

I want to be pregnant. Have I mentioned that? If I have, there it is again. It feels good to get it out. I am trying to be happy for EVERYONE around me that are having babies but I am finding it hard to keep jealousy out of my heart. When will it be my turn again???

I was talking to Adam a few days ago about how God has his plan and how he always knows what's going to happen before it does. It is really getting harder and harder to sit back and wait to see what he is doing with our life as a family. I don't know if we are doing something wrong. Are there going to be happier days ahead? We want a better life so bad. I don't want to come across as someone who is unappreciative for what we have because that is not it at all. We just want more for ourselves, for Aidan.

Thanksgiving is coming up and Adam's family will be here for the Holiday. I have been so excited about them coming and I still am, I just don't feel like getting out of bed most mornings. I have so much to do before Friday. I had big plans to get my holiday decorating done and even prep some meals for while they were here but I don't know if I can't put my stress and anxiety on the back burner long enough to get it all done.

I really, really, really hope things are going to get better soon. We are struggling in the worst of ways. I can say, thankfully, through everything we do still have eachother.

Thankful Thursdays-People

It's that time of the week again and I am super thankful for so many things. I decided this week I would tell you about some of the people I am thankful for. Don't laugh.

It may sound silly BUT I am thankful for the guys who work for our landscaping company. Basically because without their long, hard hours of help, Adam would never be able to do it all.

I am thankful for my mom, who lectures me to DEATH everyday but always solves my problems and makes me feel better. She also, supplies me with about 25 hours of free child care every week and does my laundry, empties my dishwasher and organizes my closet's...every other day. You should see the cute new shoe rack she bought me!

I am thankful for Amanda this week, because she is always available to just laugh with me. She also happens to be the best person in the world to vent to, she is always on my side and a great listener.

I am thankful AGAIN AND ALWAYS for Aidan because he is saying new words everyday and

it is soooo much fun to hear him speak. He says the funniest things.

I am thankful for my Aunt Karen, Aidan's great aunt. We got Aidan's Christmas presents from her already today! She goes crazy at Baby Gap for him every year at Christmas and on his birthday. It is so nice to know we have family that loves us so much they Christmas shop for our son two months early.

and last but not least, this week, I am thankful for my husband because he just gets me. He doesn't even have to try he just does it. That makes me so happy. It also NEVER gets old hearing him tell me he loves me a million times a day.

What are you thankful for??? Happy Thursday Everyone!!! xoxoxoxo

1/2 Way Women's Marriage Ministry Update

Well, we are at day seven of our two week Women's Marriage Ministry project. We took the weekend off so that some people to catch up, but here is a little recap of what's been going on:

Friday our exercise was to feel our hubby's muscles. I am cracking up as I am typing this. Sounds funny right? Well, the point is, to remind our husbands that they are strong. I won't go in to detail about how this went down because if Adam ever reads this, I don't want him to be upset that I share every personal conversation we have. BUT, he knows, I think he is strong and has nice muscles.

Last night, we were supposed to ask our husbands what they wanted to do for the evening. Something that was all about them. Our routine at night is pretty much the same because Adam works so late, but Mondays are his days off so last night was a good night for this exercise. As I had predicted when I asked him what he wanted to do, he said just get in bed and cuddle with Aidan and I and watch a movie. So, we did just that and he was content. After Aidan went to bed, we some great alone time watching TV and talking about life. Typical for us, but that's what he wanted to do.

Tonight, we are supposed to leave a note for our husbands that says "Thank you for wanting to work hard for our family. Your desire & commitment makes me feel secure". You know, in our own words. This is right up my alley. I love doing stuff like this for Adam. The note is already written and I will put it in his car for him to read on the way to work in the morning.

I am still greeting him at the door every night and he is still LOVING it. He still acts surprised to see me every night when he walks through the door. I think for a day or two he thought I was doing it because he was in trouble or I wanted something. It was pretty funny. Now I think he is finally starting to see that I am just happy he is home.

It's not too late to jump on board and start the 14 day challenge on your own. It's a lot of fun!!! Check it out...www.womensmarriageministry.blogspot.com.

The No Good, Very Bad, Not Fun at All, Start to our Tuesday

Oh my goodness! I have had the worst start to my day today. Let me just tell you...I got up this morning to get Aidan ready for school and realized the juice boxes I bought for his lunch, were still in my car!!! No big deal, they just wouldn't be SUPER cold, when he drank them for lunch. Adam went to the car to get them for me. Well, got Aidan's lunch packed, got him dressed, surprisingly we were right on time to be leaving for school. Just ONE problem. My car keys were no where in sight. Light bulb goes on and I call Adam. He is already at work 30 MINUTES away...with my car keys in his pocket (from getting the juice boxes for me). Luckily, my mom has my spare key so she runs over to drop it off. We may be a few minutes late for school but we are going to make it. We are driving for about 2 minutes and I am feeling pretty cute in my white top and pink scarf and I look down to realize my pants (long black gauchos) are on inside out!!! GRRRRREAT! So quickly, I slide them off and turn them right side in at the next red light. The light turns green and it has just BARELY started to rain. I accelerate slowly and the next thing I know, Aidan and I are in a full hydroplane across the median and we are now across both lanes of traffic. I am freaking out. All the nice people in traffic behind us, start to HONK at me! Can you believe that? How rude!! Luckily, I was able to move my car out of the way and only suffered a flat tire. As expected, I started to cry. I don't know if it was because I was nervous or because Aidan was not going to be making it to school today and I had to be to work in 30 minutes with no one to care for my child. Sweet Aidan kept saying "You OK Mama, you OK?". I think he was worried about me. I am just glad we were OK. I made it to work and my mom picked up Aidan. I am finally starting to feel a little bit better but sheesh...what a morning!!! I hope you all had a better start to your Tuesday than me!!!

Thankful Thursdays

Since it's that time of year...I wanted to share with you a few things that I am thankful for...and they all have to do with Aidan today...

I am thankful for Aidan's smile. There are days when I can't wear one myself, and he has enough smile for the both of us.

I am thankful for his sweet hands. Lately, he loves to take my face in his hands and kiss me all over.

I am thankful for how smart he is. Just when I get a new thing in my head I want to show him, he turns around and shows me he has figured it out all on his own.

I am thankful for the love his has for his Daddy. There are days, when I am so busy or stressed out, I forget to love on my hubby. Aidan's unconditional love for his dada is enough to last a few lifetimes.

I am thankful he's a cuddler. When he and I are both missing Adam, he reminds me that we have each other...and snuggles right up next to me.

I am thankful he is a boy. Boys are wild and love to be crazy. I'm still in that stage sometimes. We all get to be silly together.

I am thankful he's my thing to be thankful for because he makes everyday a better one by just being him.

Love you sweet boy!!!

**Isn't my Thankful Thursdays button cute? I made it myself! Don't ask me how, because I have NO CLUE! Haha!

Women's Marriage Ministry

I've joined a little club. Really, it's for women struggling in their marriages which I am not, but I figured it would be fun to loosely follow along and hey, it can't EVER hurt to put a little extra effort in to your marriage. The name of the blog is Women's Marriage Ministry. As most of you know, although I am a person that prays, I am not a hugely religious person but I have really been having fun with the daily activities.

A little recap...day one, we have to meet our hubby's at the door and tell them how much we missed them. Not yell from another room, but get up and go to the doorway. Adam was so happy to see me. It was great. Day two, we were supposed to meet our hubby's at the door and give them a hug and a kiss in addition to telling them that we missed them. I probably got 5 or 6 hugs back. I think it really makes Adam feel awesome after a long day of work. Day three...the way to a man's heart it through his stomach. Well, I am no cook but I can make a mean pot of chicken and dumplings. My hubby says they are the best he's ever had. So, when he walked through the door tonight, even though I was there waiting on him with open arms, my feelings weren't hurt when he quickly hugged me and bee lined for the kitchen. He was thrilled! He has already called me tonight to ask me to have another bowl ready for him!!!

I will be doing this for 14 days. We'll see how it goes. So far so good and I am really enjoying it! The secret is, you can't tell your hubby about it. Check it out and see for yourself!

Halloween Photos

I know, I know...I am DAYS behind on posting some pictures of our Halloween Monkey. (Right Hannah Jo) So drum roll please...Here they are and they are not that good because the kid was CRRRAAAZZZZY excited on Halloween and did not have time to have his picture taken!!!

Our Monkey with M&M's in hand

Stealing candy from Nana and Grandpa's Candy Bowl


This one is super blurry (they were all taken with my mom's iPhone because I forgot my camera) but he is talking to some kids about the haunted house across the street.
Aidan: mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm (his words right now) and lots of pointing



Handing some M&M's to a trick or treater about to come up my parents steps. He loved handing out candy but he loved putting candy in kids bags and taking it right back even more.


Standing on his tip toes to get candy to pass out.

Every year we go to my mom and dad's to hand out candy with them. They live in a really nice neighborhood in the city that borders a not so nice neighborhood. All the kids from that neighborhood come over to Trick or Treat. Since it was a Saturday night, we knew we would see a BIG crowd. We were no were near prepared for the amount of kids we saw. We handed out over 800 pieces of candy. One piece to each kid. That's a lot of kids. We may have spent $200+ on candy but it's so worth seeing the smile on their faces.

Aidan had a great time. My parents friends that live across the street from them, have a haunted house every year. It made the news this time around! Aidan was pointing and say "monst" (monsters) all night. Uncle Bobby took him over there a couple times and he freaked but still wanted to go over and over. He trick or treated to couple of houses but we ended up having to give his candy away to some of our trick or treaters. It was probably the best thing that could of happened so that I wasn't eating candy in bed. Happy Halloween from the Harvey's (late)!! Hope everyone had a safe and fun time!

P.S. Already bought Aidan's costume for next year! It was 4 bucks at TJ Maxx! What a steal!!!