I'm Back!

Last Monday (12-19), Sailor and Lawnboy took the car to get the tires rotated and the oil changed and then me and Jaws and Princess went shopping. Apparently the car needed alot more done ($2500 worth), but we decided to put it on hold til we could afford it. I spent my Old Navy giftcard and got 2 long-sleeve shirts and a pair of jeans, we went to Victoria's Secret and I got a free Angels lace panty (woo hoo!) and bought a gift card for Bill's cousin. Then we got our coffee and headed home. Sailor was impatiently waiting for us when we got home, so we finished packing up the car, went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, then got on the road! We ended up making it through Georgia and about halfway through Tennessee when we finally decided to just stop and rest for a bit. We got a hotel room (what a waste...we used it from like 4 or 5 til 9am) and got some sleep. Then we got up, got some breakfast, and back on the road! Princess was miserable, she barely slept at all in the car! We made it to Grandma and Grandpa's house at about 5:30, had dinner, visited, and then went to bed.

The next day, Wed (12-21), we went shopping at the big Tiffin mall! LOL, there was 1 department store in the entire mall, plus a Claire's, Radio Shack, Hallmark, and a jewelry store...crazy! Anyway, we bought Princess a cute winter jacket with a hood and matching mittens. I bought myself a new purse because my strap was starting to break. After that, we went across the street to Wal-Mart. Sailor got some new long-sleeve shirts, some boxers and socks (yep, you guessed it, I didn't pack for him, so he forgot boxers and socks!). We got Princess some undies (they were really cheap and we're going to try and potty train soon) and a DoodlePro to play with in the car. Then we headed back to the house, put Princess down for a nap and relaxed for a bit. It was Bill's aunt's birthday, so her and her husband came over for dinner and cake.

Thursday night was Princess's birthday party and Grandma wanted us out of the house, so we went to Fremont (Sailor's uncle, that came over the night before, works at a dealership there) to look at vans. We drove a Chevy Uplander first and I really liked it, but wanted to look around some more. We got Sailor's uncle to drive us down to their Dodge dealership (it was one of those dealerships that has several different locations for the different makes, etc) and we drove a Dodge Caravan (or Grand Caravan, not sure, didn't pay attention). I wasn't too crazy about it. It had the stow-n-go, which is what I really wanted, but it wasn't enough to make me want it. It just didn't excite me. So we went back to the Chevy place and talked to them and they told us that there was a 2005 Pontiac Montana SV6 at their Tiffin location. We didn't really want a new vehicle because they depreciate so quickly, a 2005 would've been perfect. It's the exact same as the Chevy Uplander but a year older, had 8600 miles on it, and was a Pontiac. We went to Tiffin and drove it and I LOVED it! We went back to the house, got ready for the birthday party, and had a great time. Princess got lots of great stuff (baby doll, big stuffed dog, some toys, etc).

Friday morning, we got up and went back to look at the Montana again and I still wanted it. So we drove it to Fremont (they wanted Fremont location to get credit for it because that's the one that Bill's uncle works at) and spent ALL day there! We got the approval for the bank, they accepted our crappy car and gave us $8k for it (we still owed $10.3k, but it has a key scratch all the way down the driver side, and we still would've had to pay $2500 out of pocket for all the mechanical stuff when we got home anyway), so we bought the van! When we got back to Grandma and Grandpa's house, Princess was passed out, so we loaded Grandma and Grandpa into the van, let Princess sleep, and went driving around to look at Christmas lights. When we got home, Bill's cousin called and invited us over to watch a movie. We went over and they brought down their extra tv for Princess to watch Nemo while we watched American Pie: Band Camp with Bill's cousin (Stacey), her husband (Matt), and Stacey's sister (Jenny).

Saturday was Christmas Eve and Jenny's birthday (Jenny and Stacey's mom is the one that had a bday on Wed). We didn't do much during the day, just kinda relaxed and then went over their at about 5 for dinner and gifts. We did the exchange, Stacey liked her VS giftcard and said she needed perfume (I'm sure Matt was hoping for sexy undies, oh well, lol!). Uncle Roger (the one that helped us with the car) liked the stuff that Sailor got him. I got some really pretty fish Goblets and Sailor got a Kenny Chesney CD...Sailor hates Country, so I guess it's my CD now! Princess got a BUNCH of stuff! She got coloring books and crayons, a Mr Potato Head and friends (carrot and corn), a baby doll, a stuffed bear, etc. Then we did a White Elephant exchange. I ended up getting a container of fudge and other sweet goodies, Sailor got a snowman (again, for me, I LOVE snowmen!), and then everyone else gave Princess the items that they got. It's a good thing we bought that van, I don't think we would've made it home with all that stuff! Princess sat with Matt all night to open gifts and wouldn't eat when I tried to feed her, but ate almost all of Stacey's mac n cheese! She just LOVES Matt, she's such a little flirt. He's alot like Sailor, same sense of humor and personality, maybe that's why she bonded with him so quickly. We went home, put Princess to bed, and put out all the Santa stuff, then relaxed a bit.

On Christmas Morning, we got up at about 8:30, got some coffee, and opened presents. Princess got her Cinderella costume with wand and tiara, 4 DVD's (Wiggles, Cinderella, Cat in the Hat, and Grinch), an Activity Table (that she opened early so she'd have something to play with the whole week we were there), some clothes, books, jewelry, etc. I got a bunch of scrapbooking stuff, and 6 DVD's (Perfect Man, Little Black Book, Dukes of Hazzard Unrated, Bewitched, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Christmas with the Kranks). Sailor got a shirt, tie, belt, khakis, black socks, Butterfly Effect DVD, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City for PSP, and 4 tshirts. And then the van, of course, for all of us. We ate breakfast and relaxed for a bit and then went back to Aunt Sue and Uncle Roger's house for the rest of the day. Uncle Roger's family was there this time, so there were other kids to play with (Princess is the only kid in both mine and Sailor's families). After the other kids left, I took Princess home and let her play and watch tv while I packed up most of our stuff. It didn't really feel like Christmas, it was kinda boring. Christmas Eve was so much fun and then Christmas day was kinda dissapointing. Jenny had to work, Matt and Stacey left shortly after we got there to go visit his grandpa, and I didn't know Uncle Roger's family. Sailor, Grandma, and Grandpa got home at about 8 and it was snowing finally! There was snow on the ground when we got there, and it started to melt on Christmas Eve, but it finally started snowing on Christmas Night! Yay! I had just put Princess to bed, so Sailor went and got her up while I put my shoes on and we went outside and danced in the snow! We put Princess back to bed, and I went to bed shortly after, I was so tired!

Monday morning, we slept in and then got up and finished packing. We had breakfast and then hit the road! We got about halfway to the interstate (Tiffin is about 30-40 miles from the interstate) and I remembered that we forgot all of our bathroom stuff, so we turned around and went back. We finally got some food and got on the interstate and noon and headed south! I drove all the way through Ohio and Kentucky and then we stopped in Tennessee for dinner. After dinner and gas, Sailor drove through Tennessee and half of Georgia and then he was tired, so I took over and drove to Lake City, FL and then we switched again and he drove to Ocala. Luckily Princess slept much better in the van, and actually got about 10 hours of sleep during the drive! We picked up the truck from his parents' house and then headed home finally! We got home at about quarter til 9 in the morning. Lawnboy was here when we got here, so he helped us unload the van and then Princess opened the rest of her gifts. She got a Playhouse (that Lawnboy set up for us while we were gone, some Leggos, and some other little toys. Then I took a nap and Lawnboy left. After my nap, Sailor took a nap and then me and Princess got lunch, I put her down for a nap, contacted GEICO, cleaned the bathroom, and then Sailor got up. Lawnboy came back over, we had some dinner and watched Christmas with the Kranks.

Note to my friends: I have read your blogs, all of the pics y'all posted are adorable! I'm not commenting because I don't have time to comment on all of the posts from while I was gone. JavaMama, Congrats! That was my guess from the beginning, but I changed my vote because of your u/s and Husker's prediction. Guess I should change it again? LOL Oh, and don't you still have an infant carseat? I still have Princess's infant carseat, so I'll be using it again, but if I didn't, I'd just go with the convertible.