3rd Annual Friends Christmas Party

December 16 marked the day of our 3rd Annual Friends Christmas Party. I get so excited around this time of year and since we are all usually running around to our families houses and our business Christmas parties Mr. Randolph and I need to make sure that we always set aside a special night to celebrate the season with our friends.

The planning almost always starts months in advance with just hammering down a day. Then we start getting the menu together in the month of December and it usually changes so often. I mean if your dog eats a special cake mix you bought for cupcakes then you have to change the menu! You laugh....it happened!

We of course had the famous Candy Cane Martinis and they were a big hit. Nanny Wheazy has skills when it comes to making fancy drinks. She won't drink them though, lol.

There a few new couples and co-workers that were able to make the party. The more the merrier. It made for a lot more work but I am a great hostess and that is my duty. When the presents started getting handed out the excitement began. We were very proud of Tater Man because when the guest arrived and handed him a gift he would promptly bring it and place it under the tree. Mr. Randolph and I were in shock because not once in the past 3 years have we ever had to fuss at him for messing with the presents under the tree. He is such a good boy.

He was also acting a little shy this night and reserved because there were people there he did not know. Tater Man had a sit down talk with Uncle Kris about being courteous and always thanking the nice people that bring you gifts. Since he is a very spoiled child we thank God for him learning that being thankful for what you already have it whats most important. 

Uncle Kris always will to give the Tater his life lesson!
He is one lucky fella to have so much guidance and people to look
up too!

The Thevis' always seem to shine at this party lol!

Tater Man's first taste of pop rocks.







It was love at first sight!
I always try and get the picture taking done and out
of the way because the men's get antsy. They are
great sports though and always provide great memories



Love at first type! The future Mr. and Mrs. O'Neal!

His Aunt and Uncles Spoil him ROTTEN! I can't wait to
hook this up to one of our computers and let him show me
how to work the dang thing!

Curtis and Maggie!


I have been talking and whining about my old set of pots and pans for the past couple of years.  They were all scratched up and no longer non-stick! I hated them and made sure to tell Mr. Randolph each and every time I had to use them. Sorry honey! One of my favorites chefs is Rachel Ray and when she came out with a line of products I fell in love. I like the different colors she uses and her products are very well made. I was very overjoyed when I unwrapped this gift from one of my besties! Can't you tell!?

Tater was a huge help when it came to unwrapping!










....that's why I love them.

Yeah I believe it was made just for him!

Curtis, Joey, and Mr. Randolph cooking and drinking.

After a few of the guests left the boys got all relaxed and the video gaming commenced. This was my cue to head to bed with my nice buzz.

I was very proud of my little outfit I put together!

Until next year.....

Friday Funny

What does your son do when you ask him to stand by the local Santa? Well that is not what the Tater Man does!

Got to hold onto that thing it might run away!

Then this is just a bit of cuteness from the week!

Christmas Decorations

I have been doing a lot of shopping getting ready for Saint Nick to come to the house. I finally had time a couple of weekends ago to get some decorations up in the house. I have a few more pictures of some things but these are my favorite.

Merry Christmas!

Traditional tree this year

I like this new addition. My mom gave me the garland and Tater's Nanny created a master peice showing off our special ornaments and stockings!

Turkey Day 1- Wilson House

After leaving my parents house for Thanksgiving that morning we heading for an early turkey dinner at my brother and sister-in-law's house. They had such a spread. I guess you would have too since there were going to be 30 mouths to feed.

Mr. Randolph and I weren't too hungry so we did our visiting and I had my wine of course. It was so relaxing to be able to visit with the Tater Man while he playing with his cuz Jackscon(what he calls him)! They love each other and they played hard all evening.

I was able to convince Tater Man to get into the fun jump, which is no easy task. I think he had one bad experience that he holds on to. Thankfully after a few jumps with his cuz he was ready to play and loves to jump now.

When it was time to go it was decided that Tater would spend the night with Nana and Papaw. I headed to Wal-Mart to prepare for my Black Friday shopping and Mr. Randolph had a buddy come over for a gaming night.

We all had a blast and couldn't be more thankful. I have a third post about Thanksgiving because we had FOUR different celebrations. I only got pictures from three of those. 

Nana and Papaw

My family of three

I love them big

Brothers

One happy family. We weren't even the biggest family there!

Wordless Wednesday: Tater Man Christmas Tree

Turkey Day 1- Smith House

I always look forward to the holiday season. I believe I do better under stress and I simply love the madness of planning and partying. I know it’s not a piece of pie but I wouldn’t change a detail. That being said our holidays are hectic and sometimes cause rifts between Mr. Randolph and I.


It would be ideal to have everyone be able to get together for every holiday in one place and be able to get along. Well that is not the case (at least, not currently) for the Randolph-Smith family. So our holidays are spent running to each house making sure to get that quality time. Mr. Randolph wishes all would be happy and get along but he is also very tolerant and understanding of where we are in this madness.

Our family of three headed to my parent’s house for our first Thanksgiving feast of the day. My mom always has an insane spread although we couldn’t fully enjoy it because my dad and brother were working. They were so very much missed but thankfully we will be throwing ANOTHER Thanksgiving dinner sometime this week just for them. I know it sounds crazy but I love it! Plus we are having goose!

Since my mom is a photographer we always get plenty of family and Tater Man photos year round. How lucky are we?!?! It was such a beautiful day so instead of having to do shots in the studio we headed outside.

The kids made sure to be as difficult as possible but Momma being as talented as she is she got the shots we wanted and more.

After the photos we went inside for the feast followed by the girls chatting and both my Randolph men sleeping. We still had one party to go to so I could not have them being grumpy.

Stay tuned for the second part of our Turkey Day at the Wilson’s.




Um yeah he is only 3. Don't believe it? Me neither!!!!



 Love my sweet family of three!

I couldn't survive without these sweet babies!

My SIL and my sweet CC and Lil Buck.

From Mother to Son

When I was a baby I slept in my parents bed because there was really no other option. I do believe it is vital reason why I have so much trouble now being alone and sleeping alone now. As I got older I remember my daddy letting me squeeze on his side of their small full size bed. He never fussed, only pushed over so that his baby girl could snuggle.


Then I got older and there was no way that I would be fitting anywhere in that bed so I got desperate. I used to sneak into the living, which was right next to my parent’s room, and sleep on the couch. I felt safe, secure, and loved as long as I was right next to them. My parents soon caught on and started shuffling me to my bedroom in the middle of the night.

Well I just started taking matters into my own hands and decided that my little brother would just have to start sleeping in my bed. I was safe and secure once again. As you can tell I did not give up! My brother and I got older and our beds went from queens to full size and all that meant was that we wouldn’t be able to sleep side by side. We had a head at each end of the bed and snuggled all night.

Then I hit my teen years and my personality must have changed because I no longer needed someone to cuddle with each night.

Now that I am married cuddling is a must and I am always the baby spoon!

What this post is really about is the Tater Man and his new habit he is forming.

I put him to bed last night at 8:30 p.m., which is kind of late. Prayers were said, ABC’s and Numbers recited, along with some fresh cozy winter pajamas.

Mr. Randolph and I headed to bed after watching or DVR recordings at about 11:30 p.m. When I walked past Tater’s room I noticed his door was cracked open. I know I shut it each night. I didn’t think anything about and headed to my room. Mr. Randolph was right behind me as we walked through the room and turned on the side table lamp. We both looked at the bed and this is what we saw!

My heart just melted. I had a couple tears swell into my eyes. It wasn’t a sad moment but a moment of remembrance of my childhood. Mr. Randolph thinks it is because Tater’s bed is too small and uncomfortable and he is mostly right. I still would like to think and hope that Tater feels the same secure, safe, and love that I felt when I was a child.

The best part was when daddy went to put Tater in his room and realized that the kid had stripped off his bottoms and was going commando. Yep! All four of butts were there waiting for mommies pinches!

How Cajuns fight dat cold front!

In Southern Louisiana a cold front gets all the locals excited. We don’t see weather like this much and as soon as it comes it seems to go, unfortunately. Even still you can almost hear the clanking of our Magnelite pots when we catch went of cool weather.


Its time for soups, stews, and GUMBO. These are the staples for Cajuns and Southern folk, all the same. It’s also sort of a race for everyone to see who can cook the first cold weather meals. I don’t mind being the turtle to this race but eventually I stop sampling and start cooking some for my family.

Last night Mr. Randolph and I took on a load of cooking. We have a system for Gumbo cooking. It is ALWAYS a team effort and mostly quite a pleasant time to spend with one another. He cuts all of the veggies (onions, bell peppers, celery, etc.), prepares the sausage and tasso, along with making sure the Tater Man stays clear of my roux (oil and flour) while it is cooking. I have never escaped a gumbo with out a few spattered burns and I would freak if Tater Man got caught in the crossfire.

Roux is also a very delicate since it can burn so easily. There is constant stirring going on and you can never leave it unattended. Once burnt you have to throw it out and start ALL OVER. Of course I have never done that before LOL! Since all true Cajuns claim to have the best recipe for Gumbo then I will just have to say that I have the best recipe. My brother-in-law taught me all I know about the process so I am a true Cajun by spirit.

I made two pots this time, one for Mr. Randolph and I, and one for the shindig that will occur at my friends on Black Friday. All of her family will be coming in from New York and Las Vegas to celebrate their first Thanks Giving in their new home. We are very excited and very nervous to meet the family of some of our dearest friends. I am nervous for them to sample the local cuisine and even more nervous that I will be sort of representing the Creole flavor with my big pot of gumbo. No pressure, right!?!

I am sure everything will go off without a hitch and if all else fails I know the gumbo will not go to waste!

Starting to get some nice color. 1 more hour cooking time!

Vegetables added and oh I know you can smell it!

Tater Birthday Party!

Birthday weeks are not just for me anymore….Tater Man had a birthday week of his own. He felt so special and spoiled this week and I have to thank all my family and friends for loving him SO much!

His Auntie Sameemee and Uncle Chris gave him a little taste of his birthday early last week with some dino pajamas. Tater would pull the jammies out of the bag about 50 times, each time in total shock because there was a present for him in the bag. It was a dark hour when I finally put the jammies in the closet. He kept asking for his pezent!

Then on Wednesday, November 2, his actual birthday; Mr. Randolph and I met his parents at Toys-R-Us to pick out some more presents for the Tater. We wanted to get him a bike but after a few tears and unwillingness to peddle Tater decided on a Thomas the Train scooter. He also racked up on some more Hot Wheels and a big Mater truck. FYI the Mater truck has gotten more play time from the adult men.  After shopping we went out to dinner at Ground Pat’i. Tater Man ate all of his dinner and got a huge brownie/ice cream for dessert.

Saturday, was his birthday party with our friends and family. It was a big hit even though the guest list was small. We had a nice spread of food, chicken tenders, chips and queso, cupcakes (brachiosaurus), cake (Lightening McQueen), cookies and brownies. If the guests left hungry it was their own fault lol. Tater got another Clovis the Crawfish book (Grandma and Grandpa Clavier), Super Hero outfit (Uncle Joey), Helicopter (lil friend McKayla), Cars 2, Dino plate/cup, Cars writing board, and AIRPLANES (Cuz Jackson), Lunar Moon Lamp and Remote control Truck (lil friend Milly), and Cammo pow-pow (Uncle Richey). I hope I didn’t leave anything out! I swear this is why the child is rotten.

He had such a great time at his party and to end the day we watched the University of Louisiana win their football game in the last minute, followed by LSU beating Alabama in overtime by a field goal. Tater loves his Tigers and growled the whole night.

Brachiosaurus

Its like they are stalking him lol

nomolicious!

I agree cuz!

Love these sweet boys but not that damn spot of light!

Presents!

King Tater readying the army!

Loves his new airplane. He is addicted now!

Love my boys!

Our sweet baby boy is THREE!

Sunday we spent most of the day lounging and letting Tater Man play with all of his new toys. Later that night we went to my parent’s house for dinner and Taters umpteenth birthday party. He racked up on Cars Jammies, Cars 2 characters Siddley and Holly, candy, and T-Rex shoes (they are Reebok's that I guess remind him of T-Rex?). His cousins CC and Lil Buck bought him this cool easel with a chalk board on one side and dry erase board on the other. It also came with magnet letters and numbers and they also got him some new coloring gear. Tater was so happy. Although we had a mental break down after the airplane was unwrapped. He did not care to open anything else. I guess he felt the best present was already opened and he didn’t need anything else?!?
My mom made the best spaghetti and meatballs along with bread. Mr. Randolph and I made some pigs of ourselves. Momma got him and awesome Cars cake that had Lightening McQueen and Mater toy stuck on top.  Tater’s Nanny joined us at my parents so she could get some time with him and then we rolled home to pass out.

Look at my cake toppers and my new jammies from Maw and Pap!

 It would have been out of the norm for the Randolph birthday celebrations to be over after only 3 birthday parties. Of course we had to have a special birthday celebration with Auntie Mishy and Uncle Kris because they were unable to make one of his other birthday parties. Mr. Randolph and I were so amazed at the spread and detail that our friends went into for our little Tater Man. Thank you both SO much!

I want to say thank you again to all those that spent time with us for Tater’s special birthday weeks! We love you all very much.  Still today he wakes up yelling, "LETS GET THE PAWTY STAWTED!"