Trimming the Tree

We spent the afternoon and evening last night decorating our Christmas tree. The kids were all excited about helping out. Our little ballerina kept dancing around it like she was putting on some kind of arbor serenade. The highlight for her though was getting to put the Jesus star on top. Sharing the tree trimming duties with the kids is one of my favorite traditions. What a wonderful way to celebrate the season.

Snowflake Craft

We have a playdate today to make these fun snowflakes that are easy and pretty when done. All you need is paper, scizzors and a stapler (with staples of course).

1: take your paper and cut it into a square (size is irrelevant). You will ultimately need six of these squares so either do it all up front or as you go.

2: fold the square into half, making a triangle.

3: fold the triangle into half, making a smaller triangle.

4: cut the 5-6 slits into the triangle, starting from the single fold side, stopping the slit about 1" from the double fold side.
5: unfold the triangle and it should look something like this:
6: Take the outermost strips from both sides and fold them over, stapling them together at their outermost points.
7: Take the next outermost points and fold them over on the OTHER SIDE, stapling them together at their outermost points. Repeat alternating with remaining strips, leaving center diamond in tact.

8: Do steps #1-7 five more times then staple them together at the center and outermost strips to make your snowflake!Thanks Nana for the great idea!

December?

You wouldn't believe it was really December by the looks of these pictures, but last weekend we had an amazing trip, canoeing/kayaking down the Colorado river. One of our friends, Brendan, had the idea so he went with us and we had a great time. Thanks for the idea bud~

Wrapping it Up

Daddy gave me some time to finish up a little client work last weekend when he showed the kiddos how to wrap Christmas presents. His little girl helped by getting the boxes and tags, her brother was in charge of bows and tissue,And daddy? Well, he was in charge of making the rest of the mess! So here's my disclaimer folks, Mommy didn't wrap those presents so cut the kids some slack.

Happy Thanksgiving

Some food for thought (since you all will most likely have plenty of the other kind):

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. ~H.U. Westermayer

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence. ~Erma Bombeck

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel. ~Author Unknown

"Some people complain because God put thorns on roses, while others praise Him for putting roses among thorns." ~Author Unknown

Kids Christmas List

It's that time of year again, when I get multiple emails and phone calls asking what the kids (and we) would like for Christmas. It has been an ongoing effort to convince people that we prefer their company and time to presents. I completely understand that for many people, the time is much harder to part with though. So here's my idea for a Christmas gift for the kids that they will enjoy and keep forever:

You've got 30 days before Christmas. This shouldn't take you long at all. Go to your favorite book store, library or thrift shop and find your favorite children's book. Get a tape, CD or DVD and record yourself reading the book to the kids. You could do this with a video camera, tape recorder, computer, or whatever. I can convert any media you get the reading onto so that the kids will be able to have it forever. If you would like, you can include the book with the media as part of the gift but the media itself (audio and/or video) is the truly valuable part of the idea. I would like to make a compilation of as many various friends and family reading stories to them as possible. Ultimately I would like to put them all onto a single disc for the kids to keep. Perhaps someday you'll be reading it to their grandkids!

Thankful

Today I am thankful to God for all of the amazing blessings we have received. Tomorrow we will be spending the day with our family in California and missing our family in Oregon. We are truly blessed to have so many people who care about us. We have a nice house to live in that is located in a beautiful place where few people could make ends meet. We and our kids are healthy and happy. When things go wrong we are able to sort them out and deal with them. We have several good friends to spend fun times with. When people refer to the "good 'ol days", this must be what they are talking about. Thank you Lord, a million times over for our wonderful gifts.

It's a zoo in there

Today I specifically planned to stay home and do NOTHING...well, not nothing, but rather, nothing that wasn't kid oriented. So we started the day by cleaning the toy room and vacuuming so that we could spend the rest of the morning playing with their toys together. We built a lincoln log tower, played with their baby dolls, made some make-believe brunch in their pots & pans, but the highlight of the mornings was building a zoo out of megablocks:
They just soak in the time that I can devote entirely to them and not to running errands or cleaning things or dealing with a client. I love days when all I have to do is be a mom. Being a mom is the BEST.

Thankful

Today (and every day) I am trying to be thankful for the things I hate. For example, I am thankful for stinky diapers because they come from my happy healthy baby. I am also thankful for the wrinkles under my eyes because they came from the many sleepless nights I have had helping my babies become the beautiful, confident people they are today. I am (sigh) thankful that I miss my husband while he is away at work because it makes me look forward to him coming home at night and means I still love him more than life itself. Here's a cute little verse I found about being thankful for those hateful things:

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something,

for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,

because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,

because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,

because it means you’ve made a difference.

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings.

Thankful

Today we are having a playdate with some friends at our house to make advent wreaths for all of our kiddos. Therefore I am thankful today for many things:
-That we have a home where we can host friends
-That we have friends who feel welcome in our home
-That my kids play well with others so friends are willing to come back
-That I have a kennel for our dog so that she doesn't bark at our friends when they come over (bless her heart, she has become quite the mama dog to my little ones)

Thankful

This week I am planning getting a swine flu - excuse me - H1N1 shot for my kiddos and (knock on wood) I am thankful that they have thus far avoided any contact with this nasty virus. I recently did some research on the internet about it and I am also thankful for what a great resource the internet has become. With me getting a million different mixed comments about the innoculation, I didn't know whether to get it for them or not. If you haven't looked into it, do your own research online (Center for Disease Control is a great resource) and you'll have an easier time deciding.

Thankful

Today I posted a bit about my newfound soap discoveries and it reminded me how thankful I am for reconnecting with all of those long lost friends from the past. I truly am blessed to have so many people to lean on.

Homemade Soaps

I recently reconnected with several old friends on Facebook. One of them, a lady who was a grade ahead of me in high school, introduced me to the amazing world of homemade soaps (Thanks Mary!). I'm not referring to the bar kind (which she does do but I'm not that devoted). What I have made for myself is dishwasher detergent, laundry soap, a soap to replace my 409 and soap to replace my Comet. Not only was it very easy but they work great and it saves loads on the cost of normal soaps. Here's how they're made:

1) Dishwashing Detergent : equal parts of Borax, Washing Soda & Cascade (additional hint: White vinegar works better than Jet Dry in your rinse cycle valve).
2) 409 : Mix 1t Borax + 2T white vinegar + 1c hot water then shake. Pour this into a 32 oz spray bottle and add water until it's about to the fill line. Add 1/8c Dawn dishwashing detergent and allow it to diffuse on it's own (don't shake).
3) Comet : Put 4 parts baking soda + 1 part borax into a shaker.
4) Laundry Soap: (This one's a little more involved) grate up a bar of Fels Naptha laundry soap, melt it into a pot with 4 cups boiling water. Fill a 5 gallon pail halfway with hot tap water, add melted soap, 1c washing soda, and 1/2c borax. Stir til dissolved. Fill bucket rest of the way with hot tap water. Cover with lid and allow to set overnight. In the morning, stir and fill a clean laundry container half full with soap- fill the rest of the way with water. This makes A LOT of soap - I'm talking 6 months worth!

I've also heard you can make a Windex replacement out of equal parts rubbing alcohol, white vinegar, and water but haven't tried that one yet. I hope you try at least one of these soaps out. The Comet replacement and dishwasher soap are the easiest so try those first if you're not sure whether it's for you. I LOVE THEM and may never use storebrand soaps again.

Thankful

Today is my birthday so I am thankful for being able to grow old....which is what I am.

Thankful

I am thankful today that our good friends Sarah and Wally have moved closer to us. We are looking forward to taking the train down to see their new house and celebrating another Wally Day!

Thankful

Yesterday I got to take the kiddos for a walk around one of the local lakes and they were good as gold. I am thankful for the times when they mind their manners. It helps me deal with the times (like right now) when they are being absolute MONSTERS and think back telling myself "this too shall pass".

What to Make

This is a super easy recipe for sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are NOT YAMS. In this house, yam is a very bad word. I eat them because I know they are good for me but it is like torture to make the other three eat them. Sweet potatoes are a little more subtle tasting, WAY less pungent, and in my opinion, more versitile to cook with. This one's easy:

Slice up some peeled sweet potatoes into small strips. Sprinkle on some salt & pepper then a very little bit of cayenne & paprika. Cook them on an oiled cookie sheet for 20 minutes (they will shrink significantly). Flip them over, sprinkle garlic on them, and cook for another 20 minutes. That's IT! The kiddos might not eat them if you put the paprika and cayenne on them but then again, that means more for you so measure accordingly!

Thankful

Today I am posting a recipe for sweet potatoes. I am thankful for two things related to this:
1 - That my family puts up with being my guinnee pigs when it comes to recipes and will try almost anything once.

2 - That I have the time and means to test out pretty much any recipe that I find that sounds interesting. I love to cook and am also thankful to my Dad for instilling in me a curiosity in the kitchen.

Thankful

Today my grandma Pearl turns 93 and I am so thankful for having her influence in my life as I grew up and now for her being a great-grandparent to my kids.

Thankful

I am thankful today for my adorable kiddos. From the "Mommy I lub yew"s to their playing ring around the rosies or mixing up S for F in their ABC song so it became an infinate verse ("QRFGHIJKLMNOPQRFG...") and singing take me out to the ball game with gusto - albeit with several missing verses and a few random karaoke tangents about potties and peanuts and crackerjacks ...they are a comedy show all by themselves. I'm saving up all of these thankful moments for when they become teenagers.
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