Our Christmas - A Few Pictures

There's a lot of new here, so be sure to scroll all the way down.

But first - here are a few from the last few weeks, for the Grandparents.

The Girly getting nog-faced on Christmas Eve. She is a fan.

Christmas eve Peppermint bark. Mmmmm. We made Peppermint homemade Oreos too (no pictures, but they were amazing). Maybe I'll share the recipe.

Love this dress. Don't love how "big girl" my baby is getting. She is growing up too fast.

Our Christmas - The Crafty

New Christmas Jammies. Super happy with how these turned out. The only disappointment was the lack of plain t-shirts in Sister's size. I finally, in a pinch, raided her onesie supply, only to realize after I'd added the applique that it was (much) too small. So, a little tight -but still very cute. That is the cutest Christmas fabric ever.

New flannel snuggly blanket for my husband. Threw my shoulder out making this one (I powered through the whole thing in like an hour) but it was so worth the surprise. He had no idea.

And, new coordinating blankets for the bunk beds. You can also see their new pillow-pets. Another thing that they super-love. (obviously not home-made though ; ) )

These were made last minute, with supplies I had laying around, but the Sister (who has a real passion for all things "blingy") thinks they're great.

And last but not least... The farmhouse doll bed. I have to let my husband share credit for this one, he did a lot of the work, but it was so much fun, and I think it is just adorable. Especially with the scrappy blanket I made to go with it. Of course the plans are Knock-off wood (ana-white.com) There is a link on my sidebar.

My crafting has been on hold for a couple of weeks now, but I have a few new ideas brewing, and hopefully will have more to share soon.

Our Christmas - The Toys

So, by the looks of it you would think that there were some very good kids at our house this year. (Well, actually Santa found some great deals, but don't tell them that.)

The Mega-box-o'lego's. Not a big hit at the beginning, but it has staying power. It's what has been played with most since Christmas.

Zhu-Zhu and Kung Zhu (the surprising big hit of the day. It's what they asked for, and surprisingly, to me at least, the really actually loved them.

Sister's Kitchen. I know she's probably too young, but "Santa" couldn't resist, and she is having fun playing with it and her doll bed. Another one with staying power I think.

Mommy's new toy (and only Mommy's). Finally no more lost files, and I LOVE that it is portable. Really excited to use it for blogging (like I'm doing right now), more crafting with my wonderful silhouette, and I've even thought about picking up digital scrap-booking. I've only ever had desktop computers before, and I've gotta admit that I've been missing out hugely. This is wonderful.

Mom's other new toy - Wii fit plus. I was a little nervous about this one-it was actually a huge surprise to me. Once you get over the fact that the balance board talks to you (and has a super snotty attitude) the games are actually really fun, and the husband and I have been putting it to good use. I'm hoping adding it to my usual workout will pay off.

And not to leave out the husband - this is his new toy. It's a speaker bar, for the majority of you who are probably wondering what the heck it is. He received a cash award at work early in December (not super common, and a big deal - I'm way proud of him) and this was our compromise on a surround sound system. I'm pretty impressed with the improvement on our sound, and I love that it sits nicely in the entertainment center, rather than hanging on my walls.

I hope you are all enjoying your new toys too.

Our Christmas

The kids are back in school, I send my husband back to work tomorrow, and I can officially get back to normal after my two full weeks of chaotic-routine-smashing-bliss. We had a great Christmas vacation, with lots of time with friends and fun outings, and fun staying at home time too. I kept things really simple and didn't over plan too much, and it went fantastically well.

On the last day of school, I got to go help out in the Buggster's class for their hot chocolate/polar express party. It was really fun to see him in his classroom. I wish I could help out more.

We made a couple of trips to Jump Planet, and a couple of trips to the Children's Museum (so glad I bought that membership). We've got to go out to eat, and go shopping, looked at lights, played video games, watched it snow (and attempted to play in it, but it was too cold) and got to spend time with friends. Santa came, and was especially nice this year, with everyone getting what they wanted - and there was much time spent by all playing with new toys.

And on the house front - We have a buyer! We went under contract around the middle of the month and now are just waiting for bank approval (because we are taking a loss/selling for much less than we bought for - the bank has to approve the sale). This could take some time, but they are committed, so we finally feel comfortable looking for a new place to live. Our main criteria is that it is a house within our ward boundaries. We've looked at a lot, just haven't found the right one yet. Hopefully soon.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas too. I love the Joy that this season brings as we celebrate the birth of the Savior and His life. It is such a wonderful thing. One of my goals for the new year is to keep that Joy, and keep my focus on Him more fully throughout the year. I can't wait!

Christmas Pictures (I finally emptied my camera)

Pretty Christmas Dress (and hair bow that I'm very proud of).


New Jammies! (thanks Grandma)


Christmas Morning



Modeling their chef hat/apron combos. (also very happy with how these turned out).

Christmas Crafty

You might recall that I am trying for a home-made Christmas this year. Well, I have been spending many hours working on projects and then not getting pictures posted like I had planned. So, here in one fell swoop, you now get a small sampling of what I've been working on.

Cute seasonal word blocks - tutorial can be found here.

Crayon rolls (still need to add the crayons) - found here.


Aprons and Chef's hats: These are way cute, photos just can't even do them justice, I've made quite a few of these, and will post more pictures of them as I get more taken. Tutorials here and here (note - I modified my aprons quite a bit from the tutorial, but it is a great place to start).


Dollies: Another favorite project, aren't they too cute! I'm not sure the source of the pattern, (I made them with a friend of mine) but I will post it as soon as I find out. These were actually easier than they look too.


Embellished Onsies:

and a onsie/headband combo.

And stockings: I made these for my family (me, husband, kids) the year Buggy was born, and then a few years ago my mom asked me to help her make them for all of my extended family (siblings, spouses, kids, etc.). Well, with a family as large as mine is, there is always bound to be a few new babies to make them for, so I included a couple of examples.



I should be done, technically I am. But, I am already stewing around a few new ideas that I might try out before Christmas, I'll let you know as I get them done.

Merry (late) Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was great-nice and quiet (a change for us) but we really enjoyed it. We've actually had a really quiet week. As my previous pictures can attest to, we have had an unusually large amount of snow (for this area at least) over the last week and a half. Because of this, we haven't been out much.

Church was canceled last week, and was cut short to only an hour this week. We ventured out a couple of times last week, to do a little shopping and to go to a Dr appointment, but other than that, we have been able to spend lots of time relaxing, playing games, and generally doing not much.

We have enjoyed it, but it is getting old, and I am hoping that now the snow is melting we will be able to get out more this next week. The boys and my husband and I are starting to get a little bit of cabin fever. It was nice while it lasted, but we are ready for something new now.

Here are a few highlight pictures from our Christmas. There was definitely no shortage of toys here on Christmas morning, the boys got spoiled. Not necessarily just by us, but by lots of friends and family too.

What "Santa" brought the boys.

Coming downstairs. Daddy had to go wake them up-He's a big kid when it comes to Christmas, I probably would have let them sleep longer.

Beefy Enjoying his present from "L".

Figuring out a new transformer from Beefy.

Like I said, they made a good haul this year. This isn't even all of it.

A cool new "Cars" racetrack from "S".

After opening presents, and our traditional Christmas breakfast (with a few friends) - we were able to have Christmas dinner with our friends "M" and "J" and "S". It was really nice, and a good way to spend the evening. Thanks for inviting us. Even though we weren't able to be with family this year, it was a good holiday, and we feel very blessed to be where we are.

The Playhouse!

Our friends "AM" and "GM" are spending Christmas in Florida with their families. Before they left they wanted to give the boys their present so they came over on Friday night. They got the boys this playhouse.

It is HUGE!!! It takes up the entire floor space in the living room. I've managed to get it upstairs where it is currently taking up the entire hallway, and at some point (it's a two person job) I'm going to have to try and get it into the boys bedroom. Then I'll take more pictures.


Other than the sheer size of the thing, it is super cute, and the boys are having a ball with it. Thanks "AM" and "GM"