Catching Up

I know, not a lot of posts lately. Don't worry, there is plenty going on! I will be working to catch up on my posts and get started on my holiday posts. Meanwhile, you can read old posts to see what we did for the past 3 Christmases, here are some of my favorites:

The Gated Christmas Tree

My 2008 Christmas Card Goals - and no, you haven't been removed from my list. I have not successfully sent out cards for 5 years. One of these days...

"I Spy the Ornaments" Game



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Santa Time!

Yes, we have become the family that plans a trip to see Santa before Thanksgiving. Actually, it ha varied from year to year, but now that the Tumbleweed is in school all day I can't go on a not-so-busy weekday morning anymore. And since we are all impatient, I figured earlier in the season before all the crowds were out would be better.

After writing lists, the kids and I were off to the mall. Our first stop was Macy's, to put our letters to Santa into the big red mailbox. The Macy's Believe Campaign will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish for each letter. And, the kids loved the "Santa Mail" mailbox and even suggested waiting for the elf to come get the mail.



Once we mailed our letters, we went to get in line for Santa. It was 15 minutes before Santa was to arrive and we were about 6th or 7th in line. Despite a good position in line, we did happen to be behind several families with crying toddlers so it took longer than I thought it would. Once we were there, the kids were awesome and for once, I didn't have to "make" anyone sit with Santa. I love this little moment that I captured between the Dandelion and Santa during this dialog:

Santa: "What would you like for Christmas?"
Dandelion: "A Pillow Pet"
Santa: "I see. A Pillow Pet"
Dandelion: "Yeah, a brown dog Pillow Pet"


On their Santa lists this year:

Dandelion: a Brown Dog Pillow Pet, a race car, a race car hat
Tumbleweed: a unicorn Pillow Pet, a Zooble treehouse, a Skwinke *


*Update: A few days after our visit with Santa, the Tumbleweed decided that she wanted to ask for an American Girl doll and wrote a revised letter Santa. She "really hopes he gets in time for the elves to make one!"

"He came!"

Christmas morning, the kids were excited to get up and see if Santa had come, but cooperated and came to wake us up before going into the living room...

Some of the Tumbleweed's favorite Santa gifts:















Nutcracker
Pop N Style Cabbage Patch
Basketball
Leapster Games
Mosaic Crown Set
Zhu Zhu Pet Hampster





Some of the Dandelion's favorite Santa gifts:














Mack Car Carrier
Buzz & Woody
Gordon & Henry
Motor Works Train
Basketball
"My Lobster" [Zhu Zhu pet hampster]
*(if the Zhu Zhu Lobster is the hottest toy in 2010, he thought of it first!)



After the initial Santa excitement, we exchanged gifts with each other. The kids got things started by swapping their gifts. They could hardly wait - they were certainly the gifts that they had been eying the most leading up to Christmas. The Tumbleweed had spent a lot of time choosing the right Mega Block "Cars" for the Dandelion, and I helped the Dandelion pick out a pink Webkinz Lizard for the Tumbleweed.

The Tumbleweed was also very excited to give us a special project from school which she had brought home while we were away and had hidden under the couch. She also gave the Eagle a new Rubik's cube, which she got from the Box Tops prize box at school, to replace the one that she mixed up and couldn't put back.

The Eagle saved the best for last --- surprising me with a new camera! [nope, no picture of that...LOL]

It was a great morning... and then we were off to Nana & Papa's...

'Twas the Night before Christmas

Ready for Santa!

By Christmas Eve we had already had our first Christmas celebration with my family in New York and had headed home to make sure the big guy didn't forget us. The kids had a great time at Grandma & Grandpa's and were sad to leave so quick, but there was also much excitement about Santa's arrival. Before we left and all the way home, we used NORAD to track Santa's progress, turning "Are we there yet?" into "Where is Santa now?" A welcome change!

On our way home, the Tumbleweed reminded us that we had to put out cookies, chocolate milk, and carrots ["for the reindeer!"]. Of course, since we had been traveling so much I knew we didn't have carrots so we made an emergency stop half way home at Walmart before all the stores closed for the night. It was a good thing I did, because she didn't forget and counted out 9 carrots - one for each reindeer - to put out with the cookies she had made before we left and chocolate milk she and the Eagle mixed up "just the way Santa likes it".

Tired from the long day, the pictures of the kids in their cute jammies were not to be had, and neither were the pictures of "Twas the Night before Christmas" (read by Grandma via a special new recordable book).













Once the children were nestled all snug in their beds, the "prep & landing elves" went to work taking the toys out of their packages, putting batteries in, and "testing" everything to make sure they worked. Finally, about 4 hours later with numerous papercuts and broken nails, we went to bed.

Whirlwind

With only a couple of days between the last day of school and Christmas, we made a very quick trip to Honeoye Falls to visit my family. We were there less than 48 hours, but we had time to visit with lots of family who dropped by, go to a neighborhood holiday party, bake cookies, make last minute holiday shopping trips and lots more!


As usual, Grandma & Grandpa put a lot of work into making Christmas gifts for all of us. From coasters made out of a branch of the cherry tree in our yard that was cut down this past spring to clothes & doll clothes, they made some very special Christmas gifts!


My dad was still busy in his workshop while we were there, working on his special project for the Dandelion (shhhh... it's a Secret!)

Edible Art

One of the messiest projects of the holidays is frosting the cutout cookies. I have a love hate relationship with these cookies - I love to eat them, I hate to clean up after making them.

This year I decided to let the kids try their hand at decorating some cookies for Santa. Frosting, food coloring, sprinkles, crumbs - there isn't much that isn't messy about the process even when I do them by myself so why not let them get the mess started, right? They both enjoyed it. The Dandelion pretty much just ate the toppings straight, but the Tumbleweed really got into it and decorated 3 cookies "for Santa" and asked if she could do "just one more" for herself. She really seemed to put a lot of careful thought into the decorating, making quite the edible art. But I think she ate enough of the toppings along the way that she didn't even want to eat her cookie when she finished!




























Once they were done, I spent the better part of 2 hours decorating the remaining cookies... and cleaning up the mess.

Welcome Home Snow

Isn't it fitting that we got a whole pile of snow 24 hours after we got back from our warm weather trip? This weekend's storm added up to about 11 inches of white, fluffy snow at our house. We actually put some thought into the preparations for the storm and purchased a second, and third, snow shovel and two sleds (although I forgot to buy snow pants & boots for the Dandelion, again). It was a good thing we did because the snow ended around noon, providing the perfect opportunity to go out.

We started out as the shoveling brigade, with the Eagle & I working on clearing the driveway. The Tumbleweed had a new shovel and was eager to help. The Dandelion tried out a sand shovel and a dustpan before deciding that riding his bike was a better idea.



I brought out the sleds when it appeared that interest in shoveling was dwindling and they were a big hit. The Dandelion only went down twice, mostly because he didn't like climbing back up the hill, but the Tumbleweed loved it! She must have spent about an hour sledding, for a total of 1.5 hours outside, which was just shy of the amount of time it took the Eagle to finish shoveling the rest of the driveway. We were both amazed.

First Snow Day of the Season

Well it is that time of the year... we woke up to 5" of snow with the snow still falling, the roads untreated, the MOMS Holiday party canceled, and no school.

We got a very late start to the day when both kids slept in! Woo-hoo! I didn't get up until 7:45 and the Dandelion wasn't up then either. After it became apparent that we weren't going anywhere, I set the kids up with "Prep & Landing" which I DVRed last night while I gathered snow clothes. Since I hadn't gotten the Dandelion a new pair of snowpants yet, I pulled out the ones he wore last year. They were also the ones he wore the year before that - size 6-9 months. Oops. He did fit in them though - they were just about 1 inch too short so I image he would have been tripping over a 2T. Poor kid needs boots too, as I stuck him in rain boots, so I will have to make a point of getting them once the streets are cleared.

Once we were all dressed, we ventured out. The Dandelion was still pretty unsure about the whole process, he trekked out after his big sis but wasn't about to lay down in the snow & make a snow angel! He lasted about 10 minutes before going inside. The Tumbleweed stayed out longer & made a cute snowman - who melted by lunchtime:( I attempted to shovel, but managed only a few strips before it was time to go in.














While we all warmed up, I put in The Muppets Take Manhattan. It is one of my favorite snow day movies. The kids did lose interest a few times, but for the most part enjoyed watching "Miss Pig" and "Hermit". My favorite part was when the Tumbleweed was listening to Fozzie Bear singing and said "Hey Mommy! He sounds like Bert!", which was followed a little while later by "Her-, I mean, Kermit sounds like Ernie. Are Ernie & Bert in this movie?"

After lunch was calmer, with the Dandelion napping, the Tumbleweed doing a Christmas puzzle and playing some Leapster games. I got out and shoveled part of the driveway and refilled the windshield washer fluid in my car. And just like that naptime was over and dinnertime was upon us. Somewhere in there the Tumbleweed was upset with her brother and made a sign for her bedroom door - "DO NOT ENTAR". Of course while I was in the middle of cooking dinner he entered her room, prompting a squabble... "Didn't you read my sign?!? You can't come in." Poor little guy was so puzzled.

Sometimes it amazes me how slow a morning at home seems to go, but in the end how fast the day passes. I hope the roads are clear tomorrow and life gets back to normal. Life is crazy enough at this time of the year!


January 2009 Snow Day:
Snow Day Plan
Snow Day Recap

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Visiting Santa

Instead of going to the grocery store this morning, the kids & I headed out to see Santa. After examining our busy schedule I started thinking that we might not get a chance to fit it in - so off to the mall we went.

The kids were pretty excited, although I probably should have built it up a little better for the Dandelion since he is getting old enough. First we stopped at Macy's to write out our postcards to Santa for their Believe Campaign. The Tumbleweed was pretty organized and knew the 5 things* she wanted to ask Santa for. *I told her that's all you can write in a letter for Santa. When she looked a little disappointed that there might be things she couldn't write, I reminded her that Elfie could always tell Santa if there was a change. The Dandelion just enjoyed coloring with a pen.



We took our letters with us to see Santa. The line was actually pretty small, but unfortunately it did not move very fast. After a couple of minutes in line I think both kids were ready to skip Santa and go ride the mall train instead. But we survived the 30 minute line (I know not bad - but it felt like an eternity), and got to see Santa. The Tumbleweed went over the items on her list in great detail - just so Santa wouldn't miss something. The Dandelion and I had practiced what he was going to ask for, but I don't think Santa could understand him too well so the Tumbleweed translated for Santa. And we got a pretty good picture this year - no tears!


Afterward, to distract from the train which we no longer had time to ride because the Tumbleweed had to get to school, we headed to the Macy's mailbox to mail our Santa letters off to the North Pole.


Now we just have to get back to the mall to ride the train at some point!

Ornaments

I have a lot of ornaments.

I think it all started when my childhood babysitter (we spent days at her house when not in school) used have us play "I Spy" while standing around her Christmas Tree. She had all kinds of cool ornaments from the popsicle stick ornaments her kids made when they were little to fancy ornaments purchased on vacation. My mom also enjoyed the tradition of decorating the tree, and we enjoyed helping her and talking about the history of the ornaments.

Somewhere along the way, I picked up a love for Christmas ornaments. I have some to remember places I have visited, I have some ornaments that were mine as a child, I have lots of ornaments from the time that I worked at Hallmark and I have ornaments that I have gotten for the kids. I enjoy getting them out each year because they bring back a lot of great memories. These days I do this by myself after the kids go to bed, but I imagine soon I will have two little helpers.

This year I decided that the kids were almost ready for the "I Spy" game, so I made a small modification. I took the above picture of some of their ornaments before putting them on the tree, then I printed it out and had the kids find them on the tree. They have both enjoyed this. I only wish I had taken pictures of several different groups of ornaments for multiple different rounds of the game. Looks like we will be playing "I Spy" after all!

Christmas Magic Chairs

It has been a while since I had a magic chairs update. Just when it seemed like the chairs were being used as chairs, I found the Dandelion helping with the Christmas tree decorating.

Rejects

Christmas cookies are a big part of my holiday traditions. They were a big part of our wedding, where each table had a different kind of Christmas cookies. These days I host the annual MOMS Club Cookie Swap, which is my primary reason for baking every holiday season.

My love for cookies comes from my childhood. Growing up, my mom made a couple dozen types of cookies (and still does) to put on plates and give to friends & neighbors. At the beginning of December the types of cookies were decided, ingredients purchased and the process began. A couple weeks of making & freezing dough and then 3-4 days of baking & decorating batches of 20 different kinds of cookies. Finally there was plating the cookies neatly and, of course, delivering them.

Throughout the process there were only a couple of opportunities to eat cookies... when they are considered "rejects"...

1- Sugar cookie dough that had been rolled out too many times to be rolled out again.
2- Broken cookies that have fallen off the tray/spatula
3- Cookies that didn't look "right" - over cooked, deformed, etc.
4- Cookies off a plate that was unsuccessfully delivered (family was away)

Now that I don't live at my parents, we actually get a plate of cookies so I don't have to only eat the rejects. But, when I am baking we still follow the "reject rule".

Welcome to the North Pole

It only took the entire day, but I got the mantle cleared and the North Pole Village out. I feel like putting out the actual houses was a lot easier this year, but perhaps that was because I had to spend so much time cleaning things off the mantle that decorating it seemed easy.

I love my mantle because it is perfect for displaying my village houses - and they are out of the reach of little hands. It was for that same reason that it was so hard to clean, as for the rest of the year it collects various things that I want to keep out of the reach of the kids. Pictures, broken toys in need of repair, paperwork, scissors - you name it, it was probably there. Which brings me to my first New Year's Resolution...

I will not clutter the mantle.

Whites?

The Dandelion has been very excited to see the "whites" (lights) around town, so imagine his excitement when we were able to put our spiral trees out this evening. It was a balmy 60 degree day here in Massachusetts, so it seemed like the perfect day to spend some time outside decorating "before the snow flies".

Meanwhile, on the inside, the house is not very festive yet (much to the Tumbleweed's dismay) but I did finally put away the Halloween decorations. There's a lot to be done this weekend!

Elfie

Mommy: "Tell your brother about the Elf on the Shelf"
Tumbleweed: "Well, she makes sure you don't get rocks"


Since the threat of "Santa's watching" is seeming less effective with the Tumbleweed this year, I decided to call in reinforcements and brought home "Elf on the Shelf". So, last night we read the story and welcomed "Elfie" into our family. She is one of Santa's helper elves who visits our house before Christmas and each night "goes to the North Pole to tell Santa about the good & bad things the kids have done that day".

I can't say if it is working yet, but the Tumbleweed enjoyed going to the website to name our family elf and check out the interactive North Pole complete with Santa's Workshop and Reindeer Barn.

Now if I could just get the kids to start behaving so "Santa" doesn't have to go find a place to buy "rocks"!

Counting the Days

It is officially December and the countdown has begun. Yesterday the Tumbleweed came home from school with a cute countdown chart and this morning we glued the first cotton ball on Santa's beard. For another cute way to Countdown to Santa, check out the NORAD Tracks Santa website throughout the month of December --- and especially on Christmas Eve when they track Santa's journey all over the globe.

While the shopping is almost done, I can't say the house is looking very festive yet. Some of the outdoor lights are up and I took the first three boxes out of the attic, but that's about it so far. Maybe I'll have more done by the end of the day...

The Nutcracker

The Tumbleweed and I had the awesome opportunity to attend the Boston Ballet Nutcracker last night when Auntie invited us to join her during one of the performances she was working at.

The Tumbleweed was super excited about the whole experience - taking the train to Boston, seeing the ballet, going backstage and staying up very late - and it did not disappoint. Auntie met us at the T and took us right in the back door, walked us past the costumes and dancers, and snuck us onto the stage before the show! Such a neat experience for both of us. Thanks Auntie!


The Tumbleweed on the stage in front of the sled used in the show

Dedication & Determination

This morning I set out early for one of my favorite days of the year... Black Friday. I got up well before the break of dawn to be in line @ 3:40. Some years the Eagle & I go together, but today the best strategy was to split up - so while I got in my car and turned on 103.3 and sang along to Feliz Navidad at 3:05am, the Eagle "slept in" until 3:35 before heading in a different direction, and probably not listening to Christmas music.

As has been the tradition in recent years (the ones with kids), my first stop is Kohl's. I love Kohl's when they are having a sale - and I loved it even more this year because they sent me a coupon for an additional 15% off my entire purchase. Now, at regular price most things at Kohl's cost more than they do elsewhere, but when they have a sale they have some good deals. I checked lots of things off my list - Imaginext Toys, Leapster Games & clothes for the kids and gifts for several of my other family members (who are able to read and I don't want to blow the surprise). Awesome deals and an additional discount and Kohl's Cash to spend next week --- what could be better?!?

Better - the Eagle's success at Target. We will now have in-car entertainment again! We have been waiting for several months to replace our portable DVD player, and today the opportunity presented itself. Thankfully for me the Eagle was rewarded for his time standing in line in the rain with a unit or I might never have convinced him to go out on Black Friday again. And to sweeten the success a little more, I had an additional 10% off coupon off our entire purchase and Target gave us a $10 gift card and a free reusable shopping bag. And it was only 6:30am.

By the time I wrapped up at 9:30, I had heard Feliz Navidad on the radio 4 separate times while driving from store to store, purchased flannel sheets for Cameron's new bed, gotten new pants and a free watch for myself at NY & Company, bought the kids their annual matching sweaters at the 25% off sale at Children's Place, saved 25% off stocking stuffers at Michael's and braved Toys R Us and Walmart. I only missed out on a couple of "nice to have" deals by going to Toys R Us and Walmart after 8:00am, but otherwise I got everything else I had intended to - from Christmas presents to classmate birthday gifts to household items.

I would definitely say it was a good day for competitive bargain hunting. Ah, the thrill of a good deal!

Jingle Bell Rock

Well, we have come to that time of the year again... you know, the "Halloween is over so we better get ready for Christmas ASAP" part of the year. It's a little over a week until Thanksgiving but the decorations are up at the mall, the music is playing & Santa has arrived. I know people gripe & complain about this but frankly, I kind of like it.

Last year I posted about how I started playing Christmas music on November 13th. I think I started during the first week of November this year... not all the time, just one of the 6 CDs in the car... although as soon as I have time to dig out a few more CDs I'll probably up that to 3 or 4. Knowing how much the kids have been enjoying (unintentionally) making up funny lyrics in the car, I am looking forward to hearing some kid renditions of the Christmas tunes.

I have gotten started with my shopping. Mostly stuff for the kids so far (since toy shopping is fun no matter how old you are!), but I have a few other things taken care of and a plan for almost everyone else on my list. And as I have for the last 10 years, I am planning to go out shopping on Black Friday. This year I have found a cool site that posts the Black Friday Ads early, which will totally streamline the planning process on Thanksgiving Day.

This December is going to be totally crazy - even before we add in the inevitable snow days and sick days - so I need to go into December with most things already taken care of. So, I am glad that Christmas season has extended to include November, it gives me so much more time to get everything done!

Ups & Downs

A trip home (hmm, I guess home is where I live now, so I mean a trip to where I grew up) usually means multiple visits with family. Today we had brunch with my dad's family. The kids behaved well, although I didn't get a good picture of them in their cute matching outfits :( Maybe my mom did.

With the highs come the lows, because after dinner our "one night" stomach bug got the other kid... poor Grandma & Grandpa were up with her most of the night as she was sleeping on the floor in their room.