Holiday Recap 2011

Whew!  I had intended a post a day this week… HA! 

Do enjoy some shots from gift opening.  If I get a chance, perhaps I’ll put together some recap posts of our holiday handmades, crazy quotes from the day (oh, how glad I am that I had a pen and paper nearby!), favorite gifts, new traditions, the tree that almost wasn’t, and Maggie and her babies’ multiple wardrobe changes in the almost 5 hours it took us to open presents.

The shot that started it all.  Note Wally’s tail in the foreground – someone felt left out…

oh the anticipation!

White Christmas.

It finally snowed.  Like snowed enough to play outside.  So Maggie and I headed out for some fun.

And then in for some hot cocoa.

We got mail!

Boy howdy did we ever.  This was what I dragged in off the porch yesterday.

Thank you friends and family!  The US Postal Service thanks you as well, I’m sure.

Snow Globe Soap

If you’re on our Christmas list and want to be surprised, well, SPOILER ALERT.  You’re getting soap.  Not the nasty, “you’re on the naughty list, wash your mouth out and I don’t want to hear that word ever again!” kind of soap.  Nor the, “hey we didn’t know what to get you so we got you this sample size of soap because it was on sale at bath and body works and it was december 23rd and we were out of time” soap. 
You’re getting (insert drum roll here) homemade snow globe soap!  I bookmarked the tutorial on AlphaMom at least a year ago, so we got the supplies and gave it a go.  It worked really well!  It helps that we are treasure hunters and that I happened to have a drawer full of miniature stuff to put in the soap.
 
It was quick, easy, pretty cheap (I used coupons at Michaels for supplies) and fairly toddler friendly.  I did the melting and mixing and Maggie did the miniature placement.  She also spent time poking the animals with toothpicks to move them around, so if your deer or duck is upside down, well, too bad.

Santa #3

Showing Santa her nail polish.

How many Santas can we visit before she starts asking questions about why they all look different?  We’re on #3 with at least one more on the docket before Christmas.

The Christmas Party

We recently attended the Christmas party that Kole’s work sponsors for children of employees.  Games, crafts, music, food, carriage rides, Santa… it’s quite the production.  As with last year Maggie was most interested in the costumed people & the dancing.

You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around…

That’s what it’s all about!

Dear Wilton,

I know you are somewhat of a name in the baking supply industry for I see your products in a variety of places.  I am dismayed to report that I was seduced by a sale at Joann’s and the thought of an idyllic Christmas memory.  I caved and bought a Gingerbread House kit.  In my mind this was the kind of thing people just HAVE TO DO at the holidays.  What could be better than building a gingerbread house and decorating it with your almost 3 year old daughter, right?  Oh, oh, oh…  You tricked me, Wilton, and you got me good.

First of all, who knew I needed to assemble 4 walls and wait an hour while at the same time not letting my frosting harden, oh but then what about that warning that this particular frosting is EXTREMEMLY prone to hardening?  Oh, and then there’s the addition of the roof panels, which then needed 2-3 hours to set.  Hmmm….

Let me also say that my toothpaste must be a different consistency than the one you referred to in the directions when told me to mix the frosting to the consistency of toothpaste, and then proceeded to contradict yourselves in telling me just how much water to add to achieve said goal.  Is it 5 tablespoons or 3 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons, or the somewhere in between that I did?  Well, I must say, the frosting did not pipe out in nice little strings like I needed it to, and also, that flimsy plastic bag you gave me to hold the frosting?  Well, it developed a tumor, which ruptured and made the piping of frosting a distant memory.

The construction process started at 8am. Maggie lost interest around 8:05 when we both realized we wouldn’t be using the candy for a LOOOOOONNGG time. The construction finished around 3pm.  Being that the piping bag was ruined, and the frosting didn’t pipe anyway, we developed our own spackling technique which carried us through the decorating process.  All in all, it turned out better than I had hoped, but certainly was not the quaint, Christmas memory I had conjured up in my mind.  I’m including photos to show you our finished product and also to document the ONLY time we made (or will make) a gingerbread creation.

Happy Holidays to you and yours,

 

Kari

p.s.  I also have a bone to pick with you regarding your cookie spritzer (which ended up in my trash can after a 2 hour battle with one batch of cookies) but that’s a topic for a separate letter.

 

 

St. Nick was here

the star

Maggie’s first haircut

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…

I let Ezra look out the window for the first snowfall.  Yes, I know that was November 9th.  Yes, I know it’s now November 25th.  Cut me some slack, would ya?

I forgot.

In the time it’s been since we had a newborn in the house I forgot a lot.

I forgot just how much work it is worrying about them all the time.  And now with 2 kids in the house… double the worry.

I forgot how messy things get and how quickly they get that way.

I forgot HOW MANY TIMES a newborn can want to eat in a day…

and, I forgot to think of those times in terms of bonding time because this little one will surely grow up as quickly as the first one did.

I forgot how many times a day I feel the need to put my hand on his chest or my fingers under his nose, just to be sure he’s still breathing.

I forgot the smell of *baby*.

I forgot how tired I could feel, and how little sleep I would get.

I forgot how small, precious, and lovely a baby is.

 

And now I remember it all.

Adorable.

Happy Halloween!

Gearing up for the big day…

We’ve spent a good amount of our October weekends engaging in fall/Halloween activities.  I was trying to fill the time until Ezra arrived.  Kole might have been done with said festivities after the first weekend… but he managed to keep up with us.  Here are some highlights!

Ledgefest

Wildlife Sanctuary Celebration

Apple Picking

Sweet Street