Christmas Recap

I realized that I haven't posted any pictures from Christmas yet so I thought I'd do it now.

Moon Sand

I have found my new arch nemesis! I used to think Play Doh was the worst mess the kids could make but thanks to my brother, Sonny, I have found something even worse. He gave the boys Moon Sand for Christmas and of course they wanted to play with it this mroning. I have been trying to get all the Christmas decorations put away and reorganize the house to put away all the new stuff. I tried to hold them off as long as I could but they persisted...OMG the stuff is AWFUL! It breaks apart into a million pieces. It was all over the floor, the chairs (which are upholstered), and their clothes. It seems to be a pretty easy cleanup but it won't be something they get to play with on a regular basis! HOLY COW!

Merry Christmas

We have had a very Merry Christmas so far! We celebrated Christmas Eve with Mike's side of the family at our house this year. It was a good time had by all filled with too much food, a few drinks and many laughs. The kids got to bed late but fell asleep right away so the Santa duties could convene. The kids were happy with everything they got, so many that they will have new things to play with for a while. The tree looks quite empty right now but we still have one last Christmas to celebrate tomorrow with my side of the family. Today we are headed to Aunt Pat and Uncle Orlo's house to eat more and spend some wonderful family time. We hope that everyone else has a fantastic Christmas!

Boxes!

When it comes to Christmas I am a wrapper. I would much rather use wrapping paper than throw the gifts in a gift bag and call it good. So since I like to wrap things I save boxes for months in preparation for Christmas gift wrapping. If the item is in its own box then I just wrap it in that but some things like clothes need a box so I save them. For months I tell everyone in the house to not throw the boxes away so that I have enough to wrap gifts. Well ineveitably we end up with a pile of boxes that looks like the picture below. Am I the only one?

Repurposing - Great Gift Idea

I was talking with someone recently about repurposing items and thought I'd share this really fun idea I came across a while back. It is a jewelry holder made from a picture frame. Here's what I did:

Scoured the thrift stores/garage sales for old frames that would look pretty. I actually found two that were the same and had a pretty design. I didn't like the color of it so I spray painted it black. Then I picked out a pretty scrapbook paper and put it in the frame. So now I have a pretty jewelry plate to put on my dresser and store my rings, earrings, etc.

Christmas Caramels

My holiday baking is in full swing and I baked this weekend with a good friend. We made these caramels and they turned out so yummy that I wanted them to have a pretty wrapping too. I had already wrapped them in freezer paper but they looked to plain. So I took a stamp that I had and put a little red Christmas bulb on them. It spruced them up just a touch!

Once was lost...now is found!

The worst part of losing your mind is you never quite know when it may turn up. But I do feel like I found mine again (partially anyway)! After days of searching I finally took Saturday night and searched through EVERY Christmas box I have, looked in the attic of the garage for more boxes (to find none), and then finally looked in the one place that I had Christmas stuff I hadn't checked. Sure enough i had put the labels with the wrapping/tissue paper so I could easily find them (yeah right!).

As for the rug I thought I had purchased last year it has yet to turn up and I'm starting to think that I created it in my mind since I wanted one so bad. So I took my $20 of Kohl's cash and bought one last night. I wasn't about to let this free money go to waste this time!

So all is back in order in my house and I can begin working on my Christmas letter. The envelopes are all set minus the address labels I need to print yet! Can't wait to get that checked off the list.

Merry Christmas!!!

I'm sitting here watching the beautiful snow fall and reminising about Christmases past. I think that Christmas takes on a whole new meaning when you have kids of your own. The magic of Christmas is all different when you see it through the eyes of your kids.

Last week we had a visit from Santa Claus for a party that we had for daycare. Santa told a couple stories, sang some songs and handed out presents. All the daycare kids got hats that were knit specially by me. They all looked so adorable! When it was time for Santa to leave he went out to his PT cruiser and it wouldn't start. We looked out the window and he had the hood up so we sent the guys out help him. Nothing seemed to work including pushing the car out of the driveway to pop the clutch. So I was asked to call a tow truck for him and while all the moms watched from the house I tried to explain to the tow company that Santa needed a tow truck. At first the lady on the phone seemed really confused but eventually she decided to play along. When she asked where he needed it towed to I told her I would ask and she responded 'to the North Pole'! Avery had a solution for Santa....if he just would have brought his sleigh he could have just hooked up the reindeer to go home! If only...

Como Family Santa Picture.


Avery goofing off with Santa.


Boys watching Santa with the hood of the PT Cruiser up...


Santa watching his car be towed...


So tonight we celebrated Christmas with Mike's family. We always have so much fun and normally we have a family hockey game but with all the snow the ice wasn't in shape for that. So instead we just opened presents earlier and then played our Dirty Bingo game. The kids were so excited to play but the end of the game Avery melted down. The way the game works is we roll dice when you get doubles you get to pick a wrapped gift. Once they are all gone then everyone opens them and then we can steal from each other when you get doubles again. Well when the game was over Avery wanted the scarf that he got at the beginning. That ended our night! Time to go home and get two very tired boys to bed.

So now we are getting ready to put out some presents and watching a movie. Hope everyone has a great Christmas and has safe travels wherever you may be going!

Christmas Party

For daycare we had a party with Santa. The kids enjoyed it so much. They all even sat on his lap...not all of them thrilled but most of them were. Avery had been shy with him before when we saw him at the mall (creepy one) and at C&S with the live reindeer (bad costume) but was pretty comfortable when he came here!

Santa told a very inappropriate breastfeeding story and said that it was his most embarassing moment. I think all the adults were flabbergasted but the kids didn't seem to even notice!

This weekend Avery wanted to call Santa because his new Twins hat didn't fit. We told him to call but he said he didn't know his number. It was so cute.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

So I have been really bad lately at keeping up with this blog...I have been so busy it seems and I forget by the time I sit down at the computer. So here is an update on things around here (I have so many stories I can't think of them all right now).

Blake continues to do well with hockey. They had their 2nd game of the season. They don't keep score so it is basically just for fun. He is doing better listening this week than last week but it seems that he isn't the only one with a short attention span. He loves every minute of it though so that is what is important. They have been asking to go to the outdoor rink every day!

Avery started skating lessons yesterday. He got to skate on Christmas Eve with the whole family so he got a little practice in then. He did better outside than in but I think the ice wasn't so slippery outside.

As for Mike and I we have been off work. He has 2 weeks off and I have 12 days off so it could be tense around our house by the 5th when we go back to work! So far we are still working on putting our house back in order. I will be taking down everything Christmas today. We just really need some order back!

I will post some pictures in a little while.