Enough Already!!

Ok, so I'll be the first to admit it - I thought it was funny the first couple of times - a couple of kids ago. But, now - Not So Much! I'm ready to have my house back now.








Anyone interested in some abstract art? I know an artist that will work dirt cheap. Just feed him some bananas, cheese and m&ms and he'll gladly get to work.

Lookie What I Did

I spruced up our old wreath by adding some poinsetta flowers. Cute, eh?



And the stockings were hung by the.....railing this year. Our fireplace is downstairs in the familyroom and this year Rich wanted to do everything upstairs in the livingroom. The railing was the only place I could think of to hang the stockings LOL - hope it doesn't look too cheesy!



I had to run some errands this afternoon and Superman decided to tag along for fun. That was awful nice of him, wasn't it?



The really funny part was when I went to pick up my paycheck and while standing at the counter, Nathan asked for a lollipop (he must have been thinking he was at the bank or something). So after hearing the other ladies laughing and telling me that I needed to go to the bank for his lollipop, one of them found him a lollipop LOL! He was pretty happy after that, I'll tell ya!

And a few minutes ago we had this little conversation. He never ceases to entertain me.

Nathan: Mom, how much longer will it be til Santa gets here.

Me: Oh, eight more days, why?

Nathan: Well okay then.

I have no idea why that struck my funny bone, but it did. Maybe it was the simplicity of it?

There's a Reason I Only Make These Cookies Once a Year!

They are the biggest pain in the rear EVER to make - But, man they sure are worth it - YUMMY!!!

Our Little Candy Cane Craft

Our candy cane craft project was fun, but also a pain in the butt as far as prep work goes. Luckily Nathan likes crumbling up paper, so it all worked out. To make this, you need some red and white tissue paper, cut into about 2 inch squares (how many you need depends on how big the candy cane will be). A candy cane shape cut out of paper (I used poster board, because it's sturdier when using so much glue) and glue - lots and lots of glue.



Next, crumple all those little squares of tissue paper, like so...



And then glue all those babies on the paper.






Easy peasy and cute too!

Guess I Should've Known Better

You would think that during 8 hours of me working - after I washed, dried and folded all the laundry, that SOMEbody could've put their clothes away (actually SIX somebodies). Especially since I put everything else away and it was basically the only thing I asked them to do.




***Yes, that's almost ONE basket PER KID there...(Oh and ignore the wall in the background, please, as I still haven't picked a dang paint color for this room!!).

In the Cards.....

I came to the realization a few days ago that I will have to be a whole lot craftier and think of more projects that I can do with Nathan. Because one morning he woke up, ran over to me, gave me a big hug and asked "So what are we going to make today Mommy?" I do try to do fun things with him and I do like doing crafty sorts of things (I like doing them even more now that I'm back on Zoloft - feel better and have more energy). But I never really had a designated "craft time", I guess it's never to late to do that sort of thing.


At any rate....as I was going through all the decoration boxes, I found a ton of old Christmas cards and being a recovering packrat, I hated the thought of just throwing them away. But then, what the heck was I supposed to do with all those old cards. I figured I could make something out of them. I don't really need anymore ornaments for our tree, so that idea was out. I scoured the web, googled for what felt like an eternity and couldn't find a darn thing that I thought would make a good craft idea (especially for a 4 year old).

So, I decided to make a card wreath. I cut out pictures from the old cards and got out the glue, some paper plates. I cut out the center of the paper plate to make the wreath shape. Nicholas decided it looked like fun, so I handed both of them scissors and the glue and they worked on their projects. It ended up being a pretty decent project that both boys enjoyed. And it gave me the opportunity to work on my own project, getting our family Christmas cards ready to be sent (for which I have a serious hand cramp - even now two days later).

YUCK!!

Umm, since when do we find candy that's been sitting out for days now....that has glue on it - appetizing?

I have had both Nicholas and Nathan come up to me and say "Can I eat this, it just fell off the gingerbread boy that's hanging up in the hallway?"

KIDS!!!! Ahhh, I swear they're going to be the death of me one of these days!!

Snowy Day All Around

We picked the perfect day yesterday for our little snowman project. We made snowman cookies, and a snowman craft and it was snowing outside while we did it. How perfect was that?!



Nathan's Snowman Craft










Mixing up the cookie dough


Adding the butter

Adding the flour

And dumping in the sugar


We made some with sugar sprinkles on top




And we frosted some too (well, actually Amanda did most of the work on these ones)




And of course, I had to smack some fingers to get them to stop eating them all - But then again they were pretty good LOL!

Daddy's Birthday

We celebrated Rich's birthday last night (his birthday is actually the 8th). I think I gave him the BEST present when I told him he was only 42. For some reason he kept thinking he was 43, so when I reminded him that he was only 42, he said Hmmpf, I'm younger than I thought I was. LOL, he cracks me up!

I always wait to put up the Christmas decorations until after his birthday, so that even though he's a grown man, his birthday still has meaning and it doesn't get lost in the Christmas spirit. He requested beef stroganoff for his birthday dinner and homemade "Gob" icing on chocolate cake. I also bought his favorite ice cream, mint chocolate chip. The kids had fun (they always love when we celebrate someone's birthday).

Here's some pics.....


Dinner - Beef Stroganoff, Peas and Biscuits

The Decorations

Holy Smokes - that's ALOT of candles, the house was smokin' haha!

He got them all out in one shot LOL!

Birthday Cards and Presents.......