Christmas Hodgepodge

Here are a few of our Christmas highlights:

On Saturday, Jeremiah's mom came down to bring gifts and spend the afternoon. The boys had a wonderful time opening their presents and visiting grandma. Before she arrived, I had a little chat with Elijah regarding the correct response to receiving clothes as a gift. Last year when Grandma brought him a very cute outfit, he said "We already have clothes." This year, when he opened a shirt he smiled big and said "Look! A shirt!"

My Christmas fudge was a dismal failure. It was more like fudge frosting. Next year I will be looking for a less complicated recipe. No more of this dropping fudge into cold water to see if it turns into a ball ect... Last year I made fudge with my friends and it turned out great. Obviously that was due to their skill and not mine.

After church on Sunday we stopped at the store to pick up some ingredients for Christmas dinner. I wanted to buy some sparkling juice. The cashier told me she could not sell it before noon because, even though it is non-alcoholic, it is made by a liquor company. It was 11:55. "Forget it" I told her, I wasn't going to stand around for five minutes for some juice!

Speaking of our Christmas dinner, Jeremiah requested stew. I certainly wasn't going to raise any objections! On Christmas morning I threw everything in the crock pot and forgot about it until dinner time. Also, my mom used to make stew on Christmas so it felt like carrying on a tradition.



On Christmas morning the boys woke us up and politely asked if they could open their presents. Before we got started Isaac reminded me that it was the Lord's birthday. I was humbled because I certainly wasn't thinking about that! They each got a few things, but most of their gifts were things for all of them. A big box of duplos and board games. The hands down favorite was the Fisher Price castle. They played with that all. day. long. Then woke up today and played some more. It is a very cool castle though.

The only downside to the day was Jonah. He is not feeling well and only wants to be rocked and snuggled. He hasn't even touched his new toys yet. That will change when he feels better...or maybe not. You know how one year olds are, anything is more interesting than a toy.



Some of you might remember way back in October when I said I was wishing for a dressform. Well, even though I never brought it up again, Jeremiah went back in the archives and ordered the exact model I wanted! Granted, it wasn't a surprise because I check the bank site every day, but I was still excited! Here is a pic of me and "My Double", even though it's really my pre-pregnancy double. I had a chance to play with some fabric yesterday and I already know it's going to make a great addition to my sewing tools.

I hope everybody had a great day and I look forward to reading about it and seeing pics on your blogs.

...God and Sinners Reconciled

More cool stuff at YourCoolProfile.com!

Merry Christmas!

Pomander Ball

Even though we started Christmas break this week, we decided to do the art project since it was a Christmas one. I had never heard of a pomander ball before, but it makes a really neat family project. You need one orange (a lemon or lime can work), 2 small jars of whole cloves, and cinnamon. You press the cloves into the orange, it helps to poke a hole first with a toothpick, sprinkle with cinnamon, then let it dry for a few days. After the holidays you can put in a plastic bag and bring it out every year for a great Christmas air freshner. It does smell wonderful! I will warn you that it gets a bit tedious and rough on the fingers pushing those cloves in. Isaac got tired of it real quick, leaving Elijah and I to finish. The author of our art book says they make one every December to add to their collection, which they display in a bowl with pinecones.

This morning I made my last Christmas shopping trip into town! I got some things for the boy's stockings and a few last gifts, so I am officially done with shopping! Now I can finish baking, wrap gifts, listen to some Christmas music, watch a few Christmas movies and just relax and enjoy the boys excitment.

Here are some good illustrated instructions for making a pomander ball, if your interested.

White Christmas?

Who would of thought that way up here in Northern Michigan we might be relegated to simply dreaming of a white Christmas? Our snow is long gone, and the 10 day forecast isn't looking promising. Although, that can change. It's not all bad though, Mary Jane and I have been enjoying nice long outdoor walks. They are such a nice break from my treadmill. The lakes are so pretty to walk by, even in winter.

We just bought a new slow cooker. I have been waiting for the right sale. The cover of our last one broke awhile ago and I have been wanting a new one. Our new one is a 7 qt, big enough for 6-7 people. I picked up one crock pot cookbook, and on our next trip to the library I plan on checking out a bunch more. So, if you have a favorite slow cooker recipe, please share!

Yesterday, we made our second batch of Christmas cookies. Elijah brought some over to the neighbors in a little red Christmas pail. This morning, they returned the pail filled with some cookies they made. Elijah said "look, they have this pail too!"

Speaking of Christmas cookies. Jonah loves them (what one year old doesn't love a cookie smothered in frosting?) Yesterday, he wanted a cookie. We were just about to walk out the door to go to somebody's house, and he has just had a bath, so I handed him an unfrosted one. He took it and flipped it over, looking for the frosting. Flip flip flip, over and over. He must of stood there two minutes flipping that cookie over and over looking for some frosting.

Art

This week's art project was wire ornaments. You shape some wire (We shaped it around cookie cutters as suggested), dip it in glue, than in glitter. You can imagine how fun the glitter was! This is one of my favorite projects so far, it was fun to do and I think they turned out great. They also made some great Christmas gifts from the boys to some special people.

I'm also including a picture of the Christmas cookies the boys decorated yesterday. I've only got the fudge and the gingerbread cookies left on my list to bake. Although, we will be making some more Christmas cookies so share with others. These ones didn't last.

This is probably my last post before I update to beta. I'm not sure that picasa will work with beta, so I might have to find a new way to post pictures. Also, to my friends who haven't updated, I hate that you might not be able to comment. I have been able to comment anon on some blogs, so that might work.

Congrats to Dana

Be sure to go and see Dana's beautiful new little guy (who happens to share a birthday with Isaac!) I have a feeling i'll be the next mom of five boys.

Also, i'm having trouble commenting on some blogs that have been updated to beta. I will update soon (every blogger/blogspot is going to have to) so if you can't comment on my blog that's probably why.

Happy Birthday Isaac!

Today Isaac turns seven. Seven! I can't believe it. This past year has been a big year for him. Moving to a new house, learning to ride a bike and read, getting a dog. He is a very protective big brother and often plays the role of refree between Elijah and Sammy. He is a great help with Mary Jane. He loves to draw, and I have a feeling his is going to enjoy writing once he has a better grasp of it. He is a serious thinker, and can grasp things fairy quickly. He is also a picky eater, and his tacos consist of a shell filled with cheese. I'm excited to see what this year has in store for him.

And...here is a 15 week belly shot. Otherwise known as the "is she pregnant, or just enjoying the Holidays too much?" stage. 

Misc. Monday...On Sunday

First of all, Picasa is not my friend right now. This is my 4th attempt to post this. By the time I post it, it really will be misc. Monday.

I have been making some progress on my Christmas list. Not only did we take our picture, but we already had the cards made and even mailed some of them. I also baked the peanut butter cookies and mailed out my swap package.

Here is a picture of Jonah polishing off some eggnog. Our eggnog meter is at 1.75 gallons so far this year.

Isaac and Elijah had checkups on Friday. You know when the doctor has you follow his finger with your eyes and moves it in close to your nose? Well, Isaac's left eye doesn't follow it when it moves in close, it sort of moves off to the side. The pediatrician said it's most likely benign, but it could possibly be causing some double vision when he looks at things up close so he suggested a trip to the eye doctor.

Today, I read this article that says in Britian only 1 out of every 100 Christmas cards have any religous imagery or message on them...1%??

Remember all those bananas? They didn't even last the week. We ended up buying more even. Normally, we would ration them a bit (who needs five bananas a day??) but last week they were on sale so we let the boys go crazy like monkeys.

Art Project and More

This weeks art project was envelopes. Since our new theme is "art to share with others", the object is to use the envelope to send a letter or card. Isaac choose to send a Christmas card to grandma and grandpa, while Elijah and Sam choose to draw pictures for our neighbors. I let them use my Christmas stamps to decorate them.

In other news, I have so much stuff to do! We still have to take our picture for our Christmas card (hopefully tomorrow), I still have baking to do, shopping to finish (then there will packages to mail), and I have a gift package to put together for a friend. Not to mention Isaac's birthday next week!

This is what I want to bake: pumpkin bread, gingerbread men, Christmas cookies, fudge and peanut butter cookies with the hershey kiss on them.

As for my blood pressure, the diastolic was still a tiny bit elevated. My midwife agreed that monitoring at home is probably a good idea. I had to laugh though because she told me not to take it every day, while I was thinking I would take it about three times a day. So I bought a monitor and my bp readings at home have all been just fine.

We have snow! Lots and lots of it. The boys have been having a lot of fun playing outside. In fact, I think I will sign off so we can go do that. 

What's Going On...In Pictures!

First is this maternity shirt I got at kmart for 8 bucks. I couldn't pass it up. Not to many weeks and I will be able to wear it! Things move pretty fast your fifth time around.

Next, is our stairwell which I was so excited to decorate for Christmas.




And finally...do you think we like bananas in this house?

December

It looks like we are about to pay for our mild November. We're supposed to get between 6-12 inches of snow today/tonight. We had planned on going to Grand Rapids, but I think we will postpone that. Instead we are going to rent a Rug Doctor to clean our carpets and than do some Christmas decorating. I'm a little bummed because I realized didn't make one thing last month and therefore have no November archive on my sewing blog. Hopefully, I will be able to make up for that this month. I have a lot more energy now, and feel more like myself.

So, its off to the midwife to have my bloodpressure checked. Isn't that enough to raise your blood pressure though? Knowing your going to get it checked? If it's high today, than I plan on buying my own monitor so I can check at home when I'm not feeling stressed about it.

I should add that Mary Jane is doing great! You would never know she had surgery three days ago.