NYE is Here

So long 2013. You had your ups and your downs. Your highs and your lows. You made me laugh. You made me cry. But, now I'm ready for something new. Something fresh. A chance for change. Bring on 2014!

Bringing in the new year with a couple of Shirley Temples!

Eve

On Christmas Eve we go to my sister-in-law's house for the festivities with John's family. It's always a good time!

Sweet sisters

Christmas Eve cuties

Sweet

Silly

Shelly hanging out at Aunt Kristina's

Pretty cousins

Party preparations

Jon and Chelsea...newly engaged

John and the girls

Kristina, Sylvia, and Matthew

Lily, Kaden, and Shelly

A reindeer and an elf

Cousins

Sylvia and her children

Bestemor and Britt

Cookie Decorators

Each year our friends/neighbors host a fun cookie decorating party for the kids (and the moms). The girls had a great time decorating, hanging out with their friends, and celebrating the beginning of the holiday break.

Excited to be on break

Ready to decorate

Friends

Shelly's cookie

Merry Merry

It's Christmas Eve and we are eager for the big day tomorrow. From our family to yours, Merry Christmas to all. 

Two of my favorite gifts:

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

For some reason I always seem to play a game of Christmas Card Russian Roulette this time of year. All year long I think about the photo opportunities for the next year's Christmas card. I daydream of cool backdrops and style outfits for the girls in my dreams. 

But suddenly the Christmas card pictures haven't been taken and the time is running out. The cool spots for photos fall to the wayside and the perfect outfits don't really happen. And, without fail when I do select a time to take the girls' pictures, my camera battery dies. This leaves me with a small selection of photos to chose from and a deadline that comes eerily close to Christmas Day. 

This year was worse than ever. As I speak, I am hopeful that people are finally receiving their cards. After I placed my order at Costco, I found myself picking them up a week later and sitting in the parking lot addressing them (I did manage to print out address labels that I brought with me), writing notes on some, and slapping on the stamps. 

Why, oh why do I insist on doing this to myself? Maybe 2014 will be the year of no more photo procrastination. 

Here are a few of the photoshoot out takes and rejects for this year. 

Fun!

Leaf Throwing

Sassy

Sweet

Laughter

Running Free

Sitting Pretty

Oops...pull up that zipper!!!

Tree Ornament/Pinterest Fail?

Tuesday's Advent calendar activity was to make an ornament. On Pinterest, I found this really cute and easy little tree ornament. So, I got the supplies together for the girls and showed them what the tree ornament would look like when they were done. 

Selection of ribbons in greens, golds, and browns

Shelly creating her tree

Lily tying the ribbons

The final product

A tree on a tree

I'm not sure exactly what is a little off on our creations, but they didn't turn out much like the pictures. Oh well. they had a good time creating them. It isn't always smooth and perfect over here. But it can still be fun! 

Mom at Christmas

The Christmas season arrives and I begin to sense a somewhat too familiar feeling. Maybe like something's missing and during times I least expect it. That's when I know it's my mom that I feel all around me. I know she's with me and my girls and she's taking care of us all, but she isn't here on Earth with us. Almost five years later and that still doesn't hurt any less. 

My mom loved the details that go along with Christmas...decorating the house, the tree, beautifully wrapping the gifts, listening to the Christmas music...she just seemed to love it all. And I look back on it now and realize the huge effort she put forth at Christmas time for my sisters and me. We could always count on our knit stockings (the ones she made) on the mantle, the quilted wreath hung in the house, bringing down all of the gifts on Christmas Eve night, and waking up filled with more excitement than imaginable. She created that for us (along with my dad) and I don't think you can truly grasp the effort that was made until you are that mom trying to do the same thing for your own children. 

Although she isn't with me her loving Christmas legacy lives on through my children. And hopefully one day it will continue to live on through their children, too. 

Love and miss you, mom. Merry Christmas.  

Pops!!!!!

At the after Halloween sales at Target, I found myself standing next to a woman and browsing the selection of sale items. She reached for several boxes of the Funfetti Cake Pop boxes and said that she was saving them to make Christmas cake pops and would just change out the sprinkles. Brilliant, I thought! So, I did the same. And, at 50 cents a box you couldn't go wrong. That's 12 cake pops for about $1 (after adding in prep ingredients and new sprinkles).

C

The girls helped with the prep work and I was really pleased with the results. These will be great little neighbor gifts and little extras to add to a gift.








That's just what I'm doing with this little present for Shelly's gymnastics teacher. I found this adorable printable and added a pair of earrings that I have in my crafting stash (created by me). Then I put some pops and the earrings together in a little package. Fun, simple, and sweet.

The Gift of the Magi

One of my favorite stories at Christmas time is by O. Henry, The Gift of the Magi. I remember as a young girl reading this story with my mom. I even did a report on O. Henry and acted out the story, The Gift of the Magi for my class. In that reenactment, I used my grandfather's pocket watch and used a beautiful comb that my mother had (I believe it may have been my great grandmother's). 

On Sunday morning, I read the short story to my girls. We talked about the magi, making sacrifices for others, and true love. Now, in all honesty, this may sound somewhat sugary and sweet, but my girls did find parts of it a bit comical (especially when I began to shed a tear or two near the end!). But, I do think the end result of sharing this with my girls made a little impact on them.


Let me say that if you haven't read O. Henry's story, you should. And, if you have read it now is a great time to reread it. Finally, it is a great example of someone giving up what is most valuable to them for the love of another. And I think all children benefit from this lesson.

Here is an online copy of the story.

Gift Time

The girls and I have been busy putting together gifts for their friends (a total of 23!) and their teachers (a total of 22!). 

For some of Lily's friends she has put together a package of cookie mix, frosting, sprinkles, and some mini cookie cutters. 

(These gifts have yet to be packaged)

Another group of her friends will receive a gift of hot chocolate complete with a travel mug, hot chocolate package, marshmallows, a candy cane, and some Hershey peppermint Hugs.

Shelly created a similar gift, but using a smaller travel mug for her hot chocolate gifts.

Shelly has 13 teachers (bus drivers, secretaries, principal, and special teachers) that she gives a small gift to at most of the holidays. We packaged together a cute Swiss Miss hot chocolate package with some candies for them. Simple, but they know that we are thinking of them.

Lily's six teachers get one of these small packages of Moose Munch chocolates.

And, Shelly's three main teachers will get a large box of Moose Munch, an Old Navy scarf, and a Bath & Body Works hand soap.

It's all about GIVING this time of year!!!