Holly Jolly Hodges

'Twas the season and now it has come to a bittersweet close.
These couple of days between Christmas and New Years are easily the most saddening yet most optimistic days of the year for me. The high I rode from Christmas is winding down into a dull roar and the urgent need to clean all the things is now taking over.

The tree that probably died atleast a week ago has been de-ornamentized (new word eh?), the stockings have been folded and put back in their tote and there is not a single twinkle light shining on the inside of my home. It's a tad bit sad since I thoroughly enjoy the warmth and life that my Christmas decor brings to the house and I jokingly told Bry that we had been robbed when I looked around at the bare bones of our place again.

For how much I'm boo-hoo'ing about the end of the holiday season, it truly was one of our best.
Amaya is at such a fun age this year and I don't know if Santa visited her in her dreams but she woke up in such a jolly mood singing and babbling all types of her made up Santa jingles. It only continued to get better as she came down the stairs with Bryan, jaw dropped with amazement. It was what all my mommy dreams were made of and truly made my Christmas better than I ever could have imagined. She teared through the wrapping paper to all her toys with such excitement....and then Bry's....and then mine. Girl could not be stopped. All the thrill ended with a early nap for the three of us and then onto family to exchange and play some more.

It was a great day but even the days and weeks leading up to it, we're awesome.
Between work, life stuff, and the occasional toddler tantrum...we tried to pack our days and weekends with different holiday activities and even if our plans weren't always executed to their best, we still had fun. Especially Amaya and I. Bryan is not one for the holidays and hustle and bustle but even he participated and had a good time with us and I consider that a Christmas miracle.

Candycane Hearts | Unimpressed Santa pictures | Gingerbread house making | My little Santa Baby | Lots of holiday books and reading | Santa Train Ride | Holiday Rice Krispie Treats | Cookies for Santa | Unusual Decemeber weather equaled jacketless playground dates | Playing with lights | Tree lollipops | Lots and lots of hot chocolate

Hope everyone had a great holiday and I wish everyone the most healthy and blessed New Year.

A Little Christmas

First and foremost, Christmas this year was amazing. 

I know I say that every year but this year for some reason felt different and just a little bit more special. 

There were no grand gestures or crazy presents (ok maybe one crazy presents, thanks M & S) but being surrounded by my family this year just made my heart burst a little than years past.  

Before I dive head first into the Christmas shenanigans, let me back up to Christmas Eve and share just a little bit of that night. On past Christmas Eve's the hubs and I would usually be found lounging on the couch, taking in all the Christmas our minds could take in but this year, I decided that I wanted to go to Christmas Eve service at the church I grew up in, with my sister and Mom. Now, they go every year but for the last couple years, I've blown it off and was content on staying in the cozy confines of my house. 

If I'm being 100% here, the whole end of the world thing days prior really bothered me and for awhile I was really questioning my faith and praying hard to God to keep us safe, no matter what happened. I've been having a tug on my heart lately, and it was telling me that I should go and in reality, I was still a little mixed on it. So on Christmas Eve, I showered and got myself ready to go to service and at the last minute Big Man pulled out. 

Ok, so he never actually said he would go but I was hoping he would come around. 

And then it started snowing.

 Now, if you know me, you know that I hate driving in any inclement weather and snow is the worst because I can't look away and I start feeling like I'm in the twilight zone. It's not a good look. Especially for someone like me who freezes up in panic mode whenever I start feeling like I'm losing control. So I called my sister and bared the bad news and then came in and plopped down on the couch with my wet hair and half applied makeup. I told Big Man that 'I wasn't going and whatever, it wasn't a big deal, I'll go next year, I'm sure I'm not missing much...'. But truth be told, I was sad, and I knew I was missing something and Big Man saw it on my face. So with an exasperated look on his face, he headed upstairs and got dressed to go. 

Color me excited. 

I tried to remain calm, cool, and collected....but I was bursting at the seams inside. 

I was like an excited school girl who was just thrilled to show him where I sang in the choir as a little girl and where I first learned about Jesus and his homeboys in my little white church on the corner. 

We walked in and I kid you not, I seriously felt a warmth come over me. Maybe it was the heat that was turned up or the warm greeting of 'Merry Christmas' from every person we passed but I felt so calm and comfortable that night. My heart kept filling up when I watched my mom ask for blessings for our family, or when my sister and I exchanged happy looks to one another, or my nephews who were dressed up in their Sunday best. 

But probably one of the biggest things, was hearing my husband in the most lowest voice sing 'Angels We Have Heard On High'. It was almost like he was whispering and I'm sure he would flat out deny it if you asked him, but I know for a fact, I heard what I heard. And BOOM my heart runneth over. 

We also took communion together and lowered our heads in prayer together and in that moment, I knew that it was all in God's doing that he got us there together and this was a night that I will cherish for as long as I live. 

I am not religious in the least, and I still and probably always will have my own questions, thoughts, and concerns about the church and religion, but I do plan on making this a tradition to attend every Christmas Eve with my sister and mom. Will the hubs make an appearance again? Doubtful. But I'll always have the memory of this year. 

Whewwww.....now that I got that off my chest.....who wants to see our Little Christmas.....

I will be first to admit that I am like a child and waited impatiently for the hubs to get up so we could open our gifts. It was killing me to wait while he slept and there were presents under the tree to be teared in to. 

Trust me, it is not safe for you to see from neck up right now, atleast not on me. It is straight up rough stuff to see that messiness in the morning. I don't know how Big Man does it. 

So in your best interest, we'll move along to the prezzies...

BOOM SHACKALACKA...Guess who got Photoshop?!?

Now if I only knew how to use it. Any tips, tutorials, or help, period, would be greatly appreciated. 

Ho-Ho also brought the hubs lots of fun things....candy, booze, workout stuff, a router, and a dutch oven of the non fart variety. #winwin

After the Little Fam opened up there presents, my sister, BIL, and niece came over to open theirs and to give us ours and took the only Christmas picture of us that day...

Oh, what's in the tube you ask....just the most inappropriate yet awesome Christmas gift ever. Let's just say our sexy time just became alot more artistic. Haha...I love it. 

And now since their is no other way to transition this and make it less awkward....here's the looks of happiness from the other loveys of my life...

Minus my dad and brother who opened their gifts to quick for me to get a good picture. Love them too. 

We got to visit my mom and sis to wish them a Merry Christmas and then we we were off to my Nan's to grub and gift.  

After this it was lights out. 

Call it a Christmas coma or whatever you will, but I got the 'itis and picture taking was pretty much non existent from this point on. Sorry folks. 

Here's another on for the blog books. 

***

Merry Christmas

Today is the day. 

Waking up early. Hot pots of coffee. Warm loafs of monkeybread. Wrapping paper strewn about. Stockings emptied. Heart filled. Memories made. 

It's Christmas day. 

May your day be blessed and full of love and laughter. 

Enjoy loves. 

***

Our Holiday Little Home

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!!

I can hardly believe that it is Christmas Eve already. 

Where did this year go? Where did December go? 

It has not hit me that it is already here and that in just a few short hours countless little ones will be getting tucked into bed, excitedly anticipating Santa's arrival and waiting to see if he ate and drank the countless cookies and glasses of milk left out. And yes, I do leave out cookies and milk myself...even though there is no children that live here. I guess I'm just a big kid myself. 

In light of this, I thought I'd share a little view of the Little Home, so Santa would be familiar with his surroundings tonight....

More importantly, than all the gifts and Christmas movies that will be surrounding us, is the birth of the other big guy...oh, you might know him as Jesus. : ) Though, I may not be as religious as many others out there, I still celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior and pray over him and all my loved ones this season. 

So no matter what you're doing or who your celebrating tonight, I wish you nothing but joy and happiness this holiday season. 

XOXO

It's A Marshmallow World..

"In the winter,

When the snow comes to cover the ground,

It's the time for play, it's a whipped cream day,

I wait for it all year round."

"Those are marshmallow clouds being friendly,
In the arms of the evergreen trees,
And the sun is red like a pumpkin head,
It's shining so your nose won't freeze."

"It's a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts,
Take a walk with your favorite girl,
It's a sugar date, what if spring is late,
In winter, it's a marshmallow world."

"The world is your snowball, see how it grows,
That's how it goes, whenever it snows,
The world is your snowball just for a song,
Get out and roll it along."

"It's a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts,
Take a walk with your favourite girl,
It's a sugar date, what if spring is late,
In winter, it's a marshmallow world,
In winter, it's a marshmallow world,
In winter, it's a marshmallow world"

On Friday night after a long booze filled night of karaoke at our neighbors house, we walked outside to a winter wonderland of the snow falling and actually covering and sticking to the ground. We've had a few dusting here and there of the white stuff but nothing that ever stuck around that long.

It continued to flurry through Saturday which became a Christmas movie and wrapping day for me while the hubs ventured out into the bitter cold to continue his shopping. Nothing is better than being home in the warmth of your own home, watching a marathon of Christmas movies with not a care or a place to be in the world.

And today is shaping up to being equally as lazy.

The sun is shining and is slowly melting away the pretty dusting of snow but I am not complaining of either.  I'm good with getting some vitamin d or another snow shower. That's the magic of Christmas vacation.

This Little Woman does not have a care in the world.

Did you get snow?

Do you love it or loathe it?

Woo-Hoo...It's Christmas Vacation

Yesterday was my last day of work for 2012!!!!

Can I get a WOOT WOOT!?!?

Not only was I skipping, jumping, and singing out of work yesterday at 3:30 p.m. but I also woke up this morning and guess what...I'M ALIVE!!!! Yes, my friends, I'm still here and if you're reading this apparently you are too. I'm not going to lie though, last year and even a bit this year, I was freaking out a bit about all the hoopla and impending doom of the predicted end of the world. I got caught in the hype and would badger anyone who would listen to see if they thought it was true. 

I wanted to have babies. Grow old. Live life. 

And dying today would not have been cool. 

Not cool at all. 

Effin' lyin' Mayans.

But I don't have to worry about that anymore and with my new 'not the end of the world, yolo bitch' attitude, I must tackle the holiday season and start tackling my Christmas weekend to do list and my dishes, which I was hoping the Mayans would take care of. Womp.

Want to see what I will be up to....

Among many other things. 

So today I shall be peace-ing out from the blogworld, to take care of some seasonal bizness and to spend some much needed time with my family, hubs, and Mia. 

I might hop on and off during the weekend if I find some spare minutes, but you will surely find me on the Twit ( @LWLH) bitching about the horrible task of wrapping presents and 'where the hell are the damn scissors'

 Tis' the season. 

: ) 

Griswolds Don't Have Nothing On These Guys...

Raise your hand if you have seen the Christmas classic...

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Pretty much all of us right? 

Oh you haven't seen it....?!? 

Well, you my friend should take a step back and reexamine your holiday life. 

Anywho. 

Speaking generally, we all get the gist of the movie and Clarks hilarious attempts to string and light his house up like the Fourth of July. The ridiculously lit house is an icon and one that is pretty much ingrained in your memory once and every time you see it. 

Well, my dears...what if I was to tell you that I know a family that pretty much makes the Griswolds look like a bunch of pansies in the Christmas decoration department, once you see their light display. 

You don't believe....oh well then you haven't met the Koziar's....

Since I was knee high, I have remembered coming here every holiday season. 

And every year it is exactly the same. 

Where some may grow bored with seeing the same thing every year, I seek comfort in the unchanging nature that is Christmas Village. 

It is delightfully tacky and with other homemade decorations besides the lights, it represents, at least to me, the simple joy that the season brings. I have full intentions of bringing my future children here every year to carry on the tradition. 

If you have a son or child that likes trains....well they will go bonkers when the walk through the gates and are greeted with this huge display...a whole huge town of houses, trains, and tracks.

Ahhhh I love it. 

But not as much as I love Christmas lights.

Prepare your eyes for a treat. 

Enjoy. 

And do you want to see the house that started this all...

A little farmhouse on a acres of fields and farm lands, as now expanded into one of Pennsylvania's most seen attractions. 

How do you not love all these lights??

What's that?!? 

You miss seeing Big Man and my face?!? 

Oh ok fine....gag over the cuteness of us then. 

Don't complain I warned you. 

All together now....

"Awwwwwwwwww"

♥

Kids & Cookies...How We Do Christmas.

I have an undying love Christmas.

This is true. 

Couple that with my puffy heart love for baking....a winning mixture right?

But I have an even bigger love for the munchkins in my life that call me Auntie. 

For the last couple years I've had my nephew G along with my girlfriend's kids up to decorate cookies for the Halloween and the holidays but this year I wanted to start an annual tradition to celebrate with my nephews and niece that we could look forward to each holiday season. 

I love baking. They love sweets. We love each other. 

So why not.... 

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the hostess with the mostess but I did try my hand at a couple fun extras. All on my 'what I got laying around the house' budget. 

Build A Snowman

A couple skewers

Bag Of Marshamallows

Sprinkles + Edible Markers

Quite a success. The kids loved coloring on food and were full of markers on their hands and face. 

The mamas were also successful in not letting their babies stab themselves. 

Sadly, I cannot say that for myself. :) 

I should also mention that I am a dedicated CCP (Christmas Crazy Person) in regards to the holiday movie The Polar Express. I love the movie so much that Big Man even went out and got me the DVD last year for Christmas so we could finally take it off the DVR. 

So when I thought about throwing this party together, I knew I had to incorporate it in, in some fashion...

And what's better than HOT CHOCOLATE!!!!

'Hear we only got one rule...NEVER EVER LET IT COOL!'

Gah. I love it. 

Sadly, we didn't make any time to actually make it, soo........who wants to come over?!?

Polar Express + Hot Chocolate....Holiday Blog Date, anyone?!?

***

Moving along....

We made sugar cookies for HoHo and I've never seen kids more excited to dump powdered sugar over someones furniture before. They made incredible messes and even though it geeked my OCD cleaning freak mom out, I couldn't have been any happier.

I'll let the pictures tell the story. 

It's a blow to my ego to even mention or show this, but since my sisters are persistent little beezies, I must disclose that I, little miss baker, forgot to grease the pan. 

After I rectified the pan situation we got to baking and there were stars, snowmen, and candy canes galore. 

More sugar and icing for the kiddos, yes please. 

They were in heaven. 

Even double fisting at times....

Though I was the one that hosted, I must give a big thanks to my sisters and mom for bringing the babes over and spending some time with their favorite auntie/sister/and daughter. :) 

Thank you hoochies.

♥