Archive for the Category »Celebrations! «

Dec

I hate Christmas Hang-over. It’s only my most favorite time of year, so as the year winds down I start feeling a little sad that the anticipation that’s been mounting since Novembe 1st is over. In a few short days, we’ll take down the tree and pack up our baubles. We’re hoping to open them some place new next year. That’s still in the works, though, but I’ll update when I can.

My little people are tired. Littlebit gave up the fight on my lap at 6:30 and Baby Bee is dozing now, getting her before bed snack in while I type. She seems to really be teething right now and spent quite a while this evening chewing on a binky.

We had a great Christmas. Really. It was wonderful. Everyone loved their gifts, I managed to give up on a few things causing me stress and found time to enjoy. NOT the full week I wanted. Not close. I want that week, people. I will have that week!

There are a few things I could do differently. This year I’m going to experiment with baking and then freezing our favorite cookies. Not to keep until Christmas, but to find out how far in advance of Christmas i could make them and have them taste fresh still come Christmas. Why? Because we have eaten, and I am not kidding, nearly 10 batches of cookies in a week. TEN. I think that is all LIttlebit ate today.

I will make yummy beer cheese dip again, but I will skip making the pretzels myself. Too much work. Trader Joe’s pretzel bread is better and easier.

I will buy Christmas Dinner’s dessert. I like to make it, but store bought desserts are nearly as good as home made, so I’m saving the time.

I need to have better control on my list minute “to buy” list so I can have them bought and wrapped so I’m not staying up late on Chrsitmas Eve when I really want to be in bed.

Experiment with a few of my Christmas Dinner stand-bys to see if they could be made in advance and then just reheated with good results on the big day.

But really? GREAT Holiday.

And now, it’s Boxing Day. And we’ve done nothing but eat leftovers and play video games. What’s not to love?

Tomorrow, we’re heading back to reality. We’ll clean and do laundry and probably clear more snow. And, though I’ll miss CHristmas, I’m kind of looking forward to the first of the year. A new decade and a clean slate.

I hope your holiday has been as happy as ours has, full of love and togetherness and good food and fun.

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Dec

On the 10th day before Christmas

admin

Littlebit got croup. That’s like a bad track on repeat around here, isn’t it? But, it seems mild and hopefully LB won’t miss any of the week’s fun.

I’m finishing up my final touches…

…helped along by super cheap poinsettias at the grocery. In the years since Big Daddy and I have been married, my decor has started to evolve from mismatched to focused. Lots of red with a little bit of aqua.

Thrown all together with some retro…

Shiny Brites from Grandma's tree

(sorry for the bad, flash picture. I tried to take it without the flash, but my camera actually laughed at me).

I am desperate to start baking, but I know that nothing I make now has a chance of making it to next week. LB leads the cookie monster charge around this joint, but I can share my favorite sugar cookie recipe. It calls for whipping cream, but the dough is super easy to work with and they taste spectacular.

Category: Around the House, Celebrations!, Christmas One Comment

Dec

Eleven Days before Christmas

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Santa is marked off of the list.

Santa and the Girlies

We are lucky enough to have a local Santa to visit where the lines are short, the wait time is non-existent and Santa looks pretty real. Your community might have a similar place check your local newspaper and

http://www.santa-america.org/map/

I’m also wrapping up the presents as they come into the house. My list of gifts left to buy is printed out and filed into my planner so I can take advantage of any spare, free moment AND so I can cross things off as I make them happen.

Looking for a quick and easy craft to make with the kiddos? Consider paper chains. Littlebit and the Princess are both over the moon about this super easy craft. They’re inexpensive and even young children can participate. At three, Littlebit was able to make her own chain with a little help. And the Princess took off with supplies to make her own as well.

paper chains a la Littlebit

If you want to step up your game, check out Folding Tree’s holiday entries for some cool paper crafting ideas for big and bigger kids. I made a few tear drop ornaments to hang over the dining room table….for some reason I can only find a few of my normal snowflakes this year.

paper teardrops

Category: Around the House, Celebrations!, Christmas, Gettin' Crafty Leave a Comment

Dec

On the 12th Day Before Christmas

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Don’t hate me for bringing this up, but Christmas is coming. Thirteen days until the big day. Less than two weeks.

If you haven’t sent out your Christmas cards, it’s probably time. Just sayin’. Probably should mail gifts that need to be mailed as well. Most on-line shopping sites are listing their shipping cut off dates.

Hallmark.com is currently offering 30% off and will, stamp, address and mail your cards for you if you order by 12/19.

The next few days will be focused on getting the last of my list finished. And, by the way, I didn’t finish my stockings. LOL! That’s on my list too.

Christmas 2005

Left up on my to be completed yet?
1-Take the big girls shopping for Big Daddy
2-Stocking Stuffers!
3-Cleaning the house
4-Baking
5-Finding the damn zhu zhu pet accessories, though it appears that won’t happen so I need to find a gift each for the big girls as well as taking the Princess to get a gift for the Baby Bee
6-meeting all of my other gift giving obligations (giving tree gifts, teacher gifts, santa gifts for the girls for our Mom’s group Christmas party).
7-Getting the annual ornaments
8-Having Big Daddy find my box of Christmas books.
9-Making stockings
10-Grocery List for baking and Christmas Eve, Christmas morning and Christmas dinner
11-Seeing Santa

This is the Princess’s last week before school is out which means the majority of anything secret needs to be accomplished by this time. What’s left on your list? Do you have an idea? Are there things you might need to cut out to make sure that you get the important things done without stress? My ultimate goal is to spend the week before Christmas doing nothing but having fun, which means I have to get my to-do list finished this week.

A lot of people have written about how difficult they find Christmas. How much work there is and how that works seems to mask the joy they wish they could have. They feel stressed by material obligations and overwhelming traditions. Make your list today. Figure out the most important things you need to have done and do them. Forget the rest. If you don’t send out Christmas cards this year, it doesn’t matter. If you run out of time to make elaborate trays of cookies and make one batch of sugar cookies with your kids and buy the rest, it’s okay. I bet very few people will notice and you’ll be happier for it. I learned that lesson the hard way a time or two when I sat in tears on Christmas night feeling like I had missed every single good time in a relentless pursuit for something unattainable anyhow.

Snow Folks

Focus on the best parts. Skip the rest. The people who are “doing everything”? They’re probably not having that much fun. Make your list. Check it twice. Plan for reducing your work by half and increasing your fun by twice. You won’t be sorry.

Category: Around the House, Celebrations!, Christmas One Comment

Dec

Happy Birthday, darling boy.

admin

Big Daddy is one of a kind in our house.

A boy.