Happy New Year

Hard to believe 2012 is ending.

Time is flying even faster the older I get.

Today is a bittersweet day.

It was 23 years ago today that my mom passed away.

So, New Year's Eve is always a bit different for my family.

A little sad.  Every year.

But, we always spend it together.

This year my dad is up from FL.

It makes it extra special when Dad is here.

And we always spend it with my sisters.

Right now we are going through some old pictures.

Old pictures from cleaning out my Nana's house.

It's fun.

Have come across some great pictures of me with my Grampa when I was little.

We're having a nice time.

What happens matters.  Always.

Happy New Year to you all.

I am so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends.

Looking forward to a wonderful 2013 with you all.

potd #364.  Here is an old family recipe for a champagne punch.  Growing up the adults always made this at Nana's house for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.  Tonight was the 1st time we have made it  in over 20 years.  It's quite yummy.

Yum

Made my mom's mini cheesecakes today.

They are very yummy.

Topped with cherry pie filling and they are double yummy.

potd #363.  Mom's mini cheesecakes.  Yum.

Let It Snow

It is snowing.

The weathermen earlier today were predicting 3-6" of snow.

By 7 o'clock tonight we already had close to 8".

Hubby and the girls went out to do some sledding.

Hubby decided to snowblow too.

Around 9 o'clock I went out to measure the snow on our deck table.
Yikes.  That's a lot of snow.

Especially for a storm that wasn't supposed to bring more than 6 inches.

I just recently checked the local tv station's website and now they are saying we are going to be getting 10-12+ inches of snow.

I think we may get even a bit more than that.

My pretty little tree on the back deck is getting buried.

It still looks pretty in the snow.  Even if it is a bit buried.

The girls are so excited about the snow.

They played outside 3x today.

And at bedtime they were already making plans to play outside tomorrow.

potd #362.  E outside in the snow.  Happy girl.  I think I may have a snowboarder on my hands.  Guess we'll have to get her some lessons on a real snowboard.

Hi There

Went to see The Hobbit today with the girls and Hubby.

It was really good.

Makes me want to see the Lord of The Rings trilogy again.

I think we will watch it again over the next week or so.

Our day was good.

Until it ended bad.

Long story short, we sent the girls to bed without dinner.

They were not having good manners about where we were thinking of going to eat after the movie.

So, Hubby & I decided we would just go home and they would go to bed.

Since we went to a late afternoon movie, it was already 7:30.

There was lots of crying.

No talking though because I told them they weren't allowed to talk at all.

Hoping they have learned a valuable lesson tonight.

Time will tell.

potd #361.  Hi there Lucy.  Gosh this face gets me every time.  Sweet face.  Kind eyes.  Lots of love there.

The Hits

I would say that the girls had a good Christmas.

They got some great gifts.

D loves her new zebra sheets from my Dad.

She is loving all things zebra right now.

So she also loves the stuffed zebra and the zebra lap desk that she got from Hubby & me.

E is loving the double Nerf swords that she got from Sissy.

She thinks that she is a ninja.

She also is loving the Firevision Nerf football set Grampa got her.

And they both love the lava lamps that I found at BJ's for them.

Another hit is the iHome clock radio that they can plug their iPod touches into for music and to charge.

Nephew J got them each a chemistry set.

We've been having fun playing with those and doing experiments.

Sissy and my Dad each got them other science/chemistry sets too.

Those most likely will be brought out over the next few days.

D also loves the Password Journal that I bought for her.

E loves it too and is planning on using some of her Christmas money from Nana to buy her own.

Another big hit was the PS3 that we got for the girls.

It was something that E really wanted.  Bad.

And her excitement opening it was fun to watch.

D&E have had a very good Christmas indeed.

And they are so thankful for everything they received.

Which makes it feel good to get them fun things.

One thing we all enjoyed tonight was some homemade vanilla ice cream.

I decided the girls would enjoy having an ice cream maker.

Hubby was skeptical.

This afternoon the girls and I prepped the makings for vanilla ice cream.

And tonight we made it, adding in mini chocolate chips at the end.

One word.

Delicious.

Hubby is no longer skeptical.

Spending the rest of the week cherishing the memories we are making with the girls.

They are growing way too fast for my liking.

potd #360.  Another hit.  The game of Risk.  So much fun.  We are all vying for world domination.  So far D is winning.  Her new nickname?  Napoleon.  Game to be continued tomorrow.

Christmas Explosion

I think Christmas exploded all over my house.

Gifts. Boxes. Wrapping paper.

Everywhere.

Niece K was sweet and came to get the girls this morning to go back to Sissy's house.

They were off  to bake cookies with the new cookie press that K got for Christmas.

And for me that meant a few hours to pull together the house.

To clean up the mess that always happens on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

To assimilate all the new things that have come into my house over the last 36 hours.

And to do the laundry that has been neglected over the last 48 hours.

I put a pretty good dent in everything.

Phew.

I would say that is the hardest part of Christmas.

Getting all the new things that come in the house assimilated.

And it always feels good when it is done.

Although my Year of the Cat really needs to extend to the girl's toys.

A trip down to the basement is much needed to weed out some old toys.

Maybe tomorrow.  Maybe.

Or maybe we'll go to the movies.

That will definitely be more fun.

potd #359.  E loves the Nerf Swords that Sissy got her for Christmas.  She has been working on her sword skills the last couple days.  I think she would be a Ninja if she could.  Good thing she can't.

Jesus' Birthday

Christmas Day.

The day we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Sometimes that fact is lost in the bustle of the season.

But, it is the whole reason we have Christmas in the first place.

Tonight on the way home from Sissy's house, I heard one of my favorite Harry Connick Jr Christmas song.

It is called, "I Pray on Christmas".

I love it.

"I pray on Christmas, to do your will each day."

We had a wonderful Christmas.  

Filled with family and love.  So blessed.

And I am feeling so blessed to have so many wonderful friends in my life.

The girls were sweet all day.

They had lots of fun and were filled with many thanks to Hubby & me for their presents.

The Claw was a big hit.  The girls love playing.

Even the big kids liked playing.

If only it had a volume control button.  

Oh well.  The price for hours of entertainment.

E opening her stocking.  Cutie.

The hat was a favorite today too. 

 Brunch at Hubby's mom's house means Blintzes.

They are so yummy.  Especially with the sour cream and strawberry preserves.

We are planning another brunch during the winter so my mil can teach me and my 2 sil's how to make the Blintzes.

Yum.  Can't wait.

Love this picture of my dad and his family from many moons ago.

I believe it was taken on Christmas.  

If I had to guess it was most likely taken in the very early 1950's.

The children from L-R are: my dad, Aunt N, Uncle J, and Uncle T.

And of course, My Nana & Grampa.

What a wonderful family photo.

I love it.

potd #358.  Here is a great picture of nephew J, my Dad, and Hubby from today.  Dad bought Hubby and J the hats for Christmas.  For years they have been trying to take his hat because they like it so much.  This year he got smart and found them their very own "Irish Walking Hats".  They are happy boys.  All 3 of them!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Christmas Eve.

Ahhh.

Love this night.

Always have since I was a little girl spending many Christmas Eves at Nana's house.

Tonight we spent it at Sissy's house with Cape Sissy and her family and my Dad.

It's so nice to have my Dad here from Florida for Christmas.

Having him here makes our family feel whole.

There is always a missing piece the years he doesn't come home for the Holidays.

We had a wonderful night going to Christmas Eve service at church and then heading to Sissy's house for food and presents.

Lots of laughs, good food, and love.

And now, I am busy getting our house ready for Christmas morning.

Took a break from stuffing the stockings to blog.

Creme Brulee French Toast is made and is in the fridge.  Hope it's good.  New recipe.

Presents are under the tree.

And the girls will hopefully not wake up too early in the morning.

We shall see.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

potd #357.  Happy presents under the tree.

Anticipation

Today was a day filled with anticipation.

There is nothing like the last couple of days before Christmas.

And the girls are very excited.

They are excited for Christmas.

And they are excited for us to exchange our Secret Santa presents tomorrow.

The four of us each drew a name and have bought something for that person.

A $10 limit.

Our plan is to exchange our gifts tomorrow morning before breakfast.

A new fun tradition we are starting as a family.

It's sweet to see the girls excited about this gift giving.

And don't tell, but I think Emma may have drawn my name.

Can't wait to see what she got me.

potd #356.  Snickerdoodles made.  Yum.

Movie Night

Hubby and I had a date night tonight.

We went to go see "Linclon".

Daniel Day Lewis is amazing as Lincoln.

I highly recommend seeing this movie.

It was really, really good.

And it sure does make me want to learn even more about that time in history.

Earlier today I did my wrapping.

I got just about everything done.

The only thing left is to finish making the bowls that I make for my nieces and nephew.

Can't tell you what I making the bowls out of this year.

But in the past I've made bowls out of a roll of tickets, a record, yarn, tissue, and starlight peppermints.

It's fun to come up each year with a different idea to make a bowl.

Here is last year's peppermint bowl.

I love how they came out.

Can't wait to show you this year's bowl.

They are looking pretty cool.

But, not until after Christmas Eve when I give the bowls as part of my nieces's and nephew's present.

potd #355.  It feels so great to be just about done with my wrapping.  A few more things, but only a few.  Now to focus on baking cookies with the girls tomorrow.

Friday Snapshot

The girls are done with school for the next 11 days.

And of course E has Strep.

When I picked the girls up at the end of the day, E fell apart as soon as we got in the car.

Her tummy hurt.  Her head hurt.  Her throat hurt.

Red flags went up in my head.

So off we went to the local pharmacy's walk in clinic.

Our pediatrician's office was already closed for the afternoon.

After a bit of a wait, we were seen.

And the test for Strep was positive.

So now she gets to take medicine the whole time she's on vacation.

Woohoo.

But at least it is something we can take antibiotics for this ailment.

Because in 24 hours, she'll be like a new kid.

And that's a good thing with just 4 days to go til Christmas.

potd #354.  Love the milk chocolate from a local chocolate maker.  So very good.  And a nice treat during Christmas.

Even Closer to Being Ready

5 more days until Christmas.

1 more day of school for D&E.

Tonight was a productive night.

I organized gifts.

More batches of Candied Pecans were made.

And teacher gifts were put together.

I have a couple more errands to run tomorrow.

Then I am done.

My plan for the weekend is to wrap and bake.

That sounds like a great plan to me.

Oh, and see my Dad.

He is a snowbird that has flown back North for Christmas.

So, family time and baking with a lot of wrapping.

Sounds like a great way to spend the last couple days before Christmas.

potd #353.  Teacher gifts all wrapped up with pretty red bows.

Secret Santa

Tonight was our Christmas party at knitting.

We ventured to PKB's house.

She has a lovely home that she was fearful wasn't going to be large enough to hold all of us Knit Wits.

Silly PKB.

Her home was plenty big enough.

And we had such a great time.

Lots of laughs.

Lots of good food.

A little bit of wine.

Fun.

And we got to open our last Secret Santa gifts.

Very exciting stuff.

The rules for knitting Secret Santa are as follows:

4 weeks of gift giving.

3 of those weeks the gifts are $5 each.

The 4th gift is $20.

And at our Christmas party we have to guess who our Secret Santa has been.

We have lots of fun guessing.

Some are better guessers than others.

I had my Secret Santa narrowed down to 2 fellow knitters.

I guessed one.  Nope.

Then I got caught up in the moment and made a wrong guess.

I didn't stick with my original thoughts.

And of course my Secret Santa was the 2nd fellow knitter I was originally thinking it was.

M was a fantastic Secret Santa.

I loved all of the gifts she gave me.

potd #352.  My final gift from M.  It is a granny square scarf.  I love it.  Thanks M!

Unexpected Bloom

We have a beautiful Viburnum in the back.

It is close to the house near the family room.

The bush can be seen from one of the family room windows.

It must be a well protected spot.

And it must be on the warm side lately.

Amazingly enough, one of the blooms that is set for spring is trying to bloom.

It is being fooled by our somewhat moderate temperatures.

I just hope none of the other blooms get any ideas on starting to bloom now.

If they do, there won't be any blooms come Spring.

So while I am not really wanting winter, a little cold would be good to get these blooms to go dormant.

And then all will be right in the plant world.

potd #351.  My Viburnum trying to bloom.  Crazy.

Christmas Crunchtime

7 days until Christmas.

Wow.

That's not a lot of time.

And I still have a lot to do.

Baking to do.

Wrapping to do.

Finishing shopping.

I am close to being done.

I am hoping tomorrow will be it for me.

I am thinking positive.

Snickerdoodles, butter cookies, and candied pecans have to me made.

All fun things.

And I am going to make sure the girls and I enjoy doing it all together.

Holiday memories being made together.

Baking and spending time together.

Because that's the important part of the Christmas season.

potd #350.  First batch of Candied Pecans.  Tossed in whipped egg white/water.  Ready to be tossed in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Lots of batches to be made.  I like to share.

Christmas Play

Tonight was our church's Christmas play.

D was Mary and E was one of the Wisemen.

They were wonderful.  As were all the performers.

The teen group did a fantastic version of the "Hallelujah Chorus".

This is not from tonight, but a clip on youtube.

Apparently our pastor found this idea on youtube and suggested it to some of the youth in church as an idea to do for tonight.

It was very nice to be in church this morning and again tonight.

potd #349.  "Mary" and a "Wisemen".  So proud of them.  They did a great job tonight.

Connecting

Tonight we are headed to a Christmas party with friends tonight.

Really looking forward to it.

It has been a continued hard day hearing the news from Newtown.

And my heart continues to break for all involved.

I believe it's at these times that it is so important to connect with others.

Friends.  Family.

I count my blessings for all of my wonderful friends and family.

And I am still hugging my children tighter today.

Not sure if that will ever stop.

Especially every morning as I drop them off to school.

And it's these times when all the trivial worries in life just melt away.

So this weekend as we enjoy events of the Christmas season, our time spent with friends and family will be that much more poignant.

Love to all of our friends and family.  You know who you are and I am so very happy and grateful that  you are a part of our lives.

potd #348.  This recipe makes the best Candied Pecans.  They are so very yummy.  And quite easy.  I am looking forward to sharing them with friends and family this Christmas season.

No Words

I really have no words tonight.

My heart is heavy after the tragedy in Newtown, CT.

We are just over an hour away from Newtown.

It is just so senseless that something like this can happen.

In D's words, "Mommy, why would he do that? They were just innocent children."

Oh,  D.  I wish I knew.

So today I hugged the girls even more than I normally do on any given day.

Here was my Facebook post from earlier today:

"I hug, kiss, and tell the girls I love them everyday.  Today the hug will be a little tighter, the kiss a little sweeter, and my love even deeper."

And I will pray.  For everyone involved.

But especially for the moms and dads who won't have the luxury of hugging, kissing or telling their child how very much they are loved tonight.

And I will do my best to remember that every day is a gift.

Because life can change in an instant.

potd #347.  Love my little metal church.

A Favorite

potd #346.  This is one of my favorite ornaments.  My niece K made it for me years and years ago.  Not sure I want to know what the Hershey Kiss looks like under the foil.   I am really glad it has held up so well.  Every time I look at it I am reminded of little K.

12-12-12

12.12.12

What a neat date.

And the last of its kind this century.

There will not be a 13.13.13.  No siree.

Still busy trying to finish up Christmas shopping.

Trouble is this time of year, I always end up adding things to my list.

And the list never seems to get shorter.

My plan is to keep chipping away at it over the next couple days.

Time will go quick next week, for certain.

Off to finish up some online shopping.

And to take stock of what I still need to do.

potd #345.  Bought these cookies at the local grocery store today.  They are yummy.  I will start my baking this weekend.

Linus

My very favorite Christmas special/cartoon is the Charlie Brown Christmas special.

I.love.it.

We have lots of Peanuts Christmas Ornaments.

That tradition started with my Aunt N.

When we were young, she would buy us a new Peanuts ornament every year.

And so as an adult I have bought many Peanuts ornaments myself.

I buy them for me and D&E.

Passing on the tradition.

To me it would not be Christmas without all of my Snoopy/Peanuts decorations and ornaments.

This is one of my favorite ornaments.

I just love Linus.  And I love this part in the Christmas special.

The true meaning of Christmas.

potd #344.  Happiness is vintage glass Christmas ornaments.

Checking My List

Well, there is just about 2 weeks to Christmas.

How did that happen??

Time sure does fly by in December.

And we are busy, busy.

This coming weekend we have a Christmas party to attend, Christmas play practice for the girls, basketball practice, a get together for the girls at their piano teacher's house, and the church Christmas play on Sunday night.

Phew.

And it's getting down to crunch time for me.

Mailed my Christmas cards today.

Now I am on to making out my final list of things/gifts that need to get done/bought over the next 2 weeks.

I know that if I don't make a list now, I will start to forget things as it gets closer to Christmas.

And that is bad.

Very bad.

I also have to carve out some time to do some baking.

Snickerdoodles, my mom's Butter Cookies, and Cinnamon Sugar Pecans are a must.

As long as I get those 3 things made, I will be a happy camper.

Anything else I get baked is bonus.

Wrapping will also have to get done soon.

I have resolved not to leave it to the last minute this year.

We will be busy for sure over the next 2 weeks.

But, we will be doing some fun things.

And enjoying time with our family and friends.

That's the best part.

We are blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

potd #343.  Christmas tree on the back deck.  I have wanted to do this for the last couple of years.  Finally this year I have a tree with lights on the back deck.  And it makes me so happy.  I just love it.  Thanks hubby for getting this done for me.    It's perfect.

Christmas Walk

Tonight is our annual Christmas Walk in the neighborhood.

We really do live in a great neighborhood.

The Christmas Walk is a progressive dinner.

We have appetizers at one house, then onto another house for dinner, and a third house for dessert.

And it's potluck.  So we all sign up to bring either an app, something for dinner, or a dessert.

I believe this is probably somewhere around the 23rd annual Christmas Walk.

Such a great, fun tradition.

It was one of the positive selling points for Hubby & I when we were house hunting.

We looked at our house in early December.

And the old owners were smart to leave out the invitation to the Christmas Walk for potential buyers to see.

When Hubby & I saw that this neighborhood did something like that, we just knew it was the type of neighborhood we wanted to live in and have our children grow up in.

And we were right.

So, in the summer our neighborhood has the annual picnic for families.

Then at Christmas we have an adults only party.

Perfect.

Looking forward to seeing neighbors I don't get to see very often and of course see all our friends(&neighbors) that we see lots of times through the year.

I just love this blurry, out of focus picture I took with my phone.

Dreamy Christmas.

potd #342.  Here are D & Lucy.  Lucy is looking very fluffy.  Probably because she had 2 baths today. Last night she snuck off to the neighbor's yard and ate rotten pumpkin.  Let's just say it didn't settle well with her.  So, her fur was a little mucky.  One bath and she looked great.  Hubby took her out and she got a little more mucky after going to the bathroom again.  So off she went for a second bath.  Oh well. She's very soft and fluffy now.

Saturday Snapshot

Today the girls & I went to see the Nutcracker with Sissy and niece K.

We enjoyed breakfast before the show.

Then we were off to the theater.

It was wonderful.

We all loved it.

Such a great day spent together making Christmas memories.

Best part of today was that Hubby came home from a business trip.

He had been gone since Tuesday.

We all missed him.

It's nice to have him home.

potd #341.  I love this Santa.  It was my mom's.  

White Chocolate+Popcorn=Deadly Delicious Snack

Really the title says it all.

After the girls have dance tonight we are headed over to a friend's house.

I am bringing White Chocolate Popcorn.

It is so delicious.

I really just want to stay home and eat all of it myself.

Of course, then my stomach will hurt.  A lot.

So I will be good and share it with our friends.

I made a triple batch for tonight.

Because we all love it so much.

Really the kids and the adults end up fighting over it.

I am also bringing some M&M chocolate chip cookies that I bought at the local grocery store.

I am hoping that will stave off the kids from the popcorn for a bit.

Not sure that plan is going to work or not.

We shall see.

What I do know is that the 2 giant bowls that are filled with popcorn right now will come home empty.

potd #340.  White Chocolate Popcorn.  Easy to make.  Addicting and delicious.

Package Deliveries

I love getting packages this time of year.

Yesterday one of the packages that came was the box that had my Christmas cards in it.

Yay!

I just love how they look.

This is the second year that I have used Tiny Prints and I just love their cards.

I also received a couple of packages with gifts for the girls.

All I have to say is I love my prime membership with Amazon.

I ordered Just Dance 4 on Tuesday around 11am.

With using the free shipping option through my prime membership, it arrived yesterday.

Amazing.

I just love being able to do shopping online.

It really does make like so much easier.

There really is nothing like doing some Christmas shopping from the comfort of my own house.

Today 3 more boxes arrived.

One had a gift in it for me.  One that I ordered for myself.

I can't tell what it is though.

It's a surprise.

I believe the other 2 have a couple of things I ordered for the girls in them.

I haven't opened them yet.

Waiting until the girls go to bed tonight.

Then I will open them.

Tonight I am going to sit and fill out my Christmas cards.

One more thing to cross of the list.

Tis the season.

potd #339.  D&E with their friend M.  Having a sleepover.  No school tomorrow due to parent/teacher conferences.  They are all snuggled on the couch getting ready to watch "Home Alone".  And eat popcorn, or course.  Sweet girls.

Knitting Night

Tonight was knitting.

I finished one of the fingerless gloves that I am making D.

And started to work on the 2nd one.

Then I have to make a pair for E.

I better get busy.

Probably won't be done by Christmas.

Ha.

Definitely won't be done by Christmas.

I'll make January my deadline.

Guess I better go pick out yarn for E.

potd #338.  Aren't these snowmen cupcakes cute?  They were made my the son of a fellow knitter.  He is an aspiring baker.  An excellent aspiring baker.  The cupcakes were delicious.  Yum.  Great snack tonight.  

Christmas Music

One of my most favorite things about the Christmas season is Christmas music.

A long time ago Sissy bought me a compilation cd from Lane Bryant.

It is one of my favorite Christmas cds.

It is called Red Hot Holidays.  Here is the playlist.

One of my favorite songs has always been, "Baby It's Cold Outside".

"We Wanna See Santa Do The Mambo" is the girl's favorite this year.

It is such a fun song.

And they are going to ask Cape Sissy to teach them how to do the Mambo when she comes to visit at Christmas

It's very handy to have a sister who is also a ballroom dance instructor.

My all-time favorite Christmas music is the music from "A Charlie Brown Christmas".

There is just nothing like Vince Guaraldi's music from that cartoon.

I.love.it.

Here is "Skating".  Love it.

Another favorite is Jimmy Buffet's version of "Mele Kalikimaka".

This song will always remind me of my girlfriend, C(yes another Christine!).

Years ago when we worked together at the bank we played the Jimmy Buffett "Christmas Island" cd a lot during the Christmas season.

We even had our own little dance made up for the song.  We had lots of fun.

I've even been known to throw out some of our old dance moves for the girls.  They think I'm crazy.

Other favorites of mine are Jewel, Diana Krall, Ally McBeal Christmas, and Harry Connick.

I own a lot of Christmas music.  And I love all of it.

potd #337.  I am pretty sure Lucy spent her day snoozing on the couch.  That didn't stop her from jumping up and snuggling up to me as soon as I sat down on the couch tonight.  She really does lead a rough life.

Monday Snapshot

potd #336.  Here is our chocolate Advent tree.  Sissy & I bought these chocolate Santas and ornaments a few weeks ago.  And Sissy had a great idea of decorating a small tree and making it into a chocolate Advent tree.  The girls jumped right on board with that idea.  They love it.

Decking The Halls

Well, today was the day.

The day to get the halls all decked out.

The tree is up and decorated.

The rest of the house is just about all decorated.

I have a few things to finish up tomorrow.

And tonight was the night that the decorated fire truck and Santa and his sleigh came through the neighborhood.

It was a great day.

It's always a fun day decorating the house.

Now we are all set to enjoy the Christmas season.

Hubby got all the outside lights put up today too.

I just love my snowman that Sissy found for me this summer at a tag sale.

He looks fantastic lit up by the garage.

E & Lucy watching for the fire truck and Santa.

Here they come.

I just love that the town that we live in has firemen that do this during the holiday season.

It is so much fun and all ages enjoy seeing the decorated fire truck.

We all look forward to it every year.

The tree all decorated.

The girls did a great job.  They love to decorate.

And I love that they love to decorate.

Fun Christmas memories being made.

What happens matters.  Always.

potd #335.  Here is E looking at her favorite ornament.  She loves watching the train go around while it plays "I'll Be Home For Christmas".  There are also a couple of horse and carriages that go around along with the train.  It is a sweet ornament.  I love that E loves it so much.

O Tannenbaum!

O Christmas Tree!

We went today to cut down our Christmas tree.

It didn't take us long to find one perfect for us.

We are lucky to get our tree from a small local tree farm.

The trees are perfectly shaped.  And they are just the right heights.

We found a great tree that is just over 6 feet tall.

The perfect size for our family room.

Tomorrow we will bring it in the house and decorate it.

D&E just love helping to decorate the tree and house.

I can't wait to get the house all decorated.

It always looks so pretty and festive.

A Charlie Brown Christmas is my favorite Christmas show.

Enjoy Vince Guaraldi's version of "O Christmas Tree".

It's just not Christmas time without the music of Vince Guaraldi from Charlie Brown Christmas

potd #334.  I love this picture.  Hubby and the girls.  My 3 most favorite people.  Love them.

Birthday Boy

Today is Hubby's birthday.

Our original plans were to go out to dinner with the girls to celebrate.

Unfortunately, E wasn't feeling well today.

She stayed home sick from school.

She has been complaining all week that she wasn't feeling well.

I ended up taking her to the doctor this morning to get tested for strep.

Negative.

Thank goodness.

So she just has a virus.  It appears to be going around at school.

I swear kids and schools are just one big germ fest.

Blech.

Tonight instead of going out to eat, we got Chinese takeout and a Carvel cake.

Yum.

It was all delicious.

Everybody was happy.

And full.

potd #333.  Hubby with D&E.  Happy Birthday Hubby!  We love you.

Morning Light

Today I spent the day at home cleaning.

My baking cabinet was a disaster.

Absolute disaster.

Disaster as in afraid to open the cabinet door disaster.

So I emptied it out completely.

And reorganized the whole cabinet.

This organization makes my OCD self feel happy.

After finishing with the baking cabinet, I headed down in the basement.

I started to pull out the Christmas boxes.

And I went through other boxes.

Within a couple hours I came up with 5 boxes of "stuff" that I could donate.

And I happily loaded the boxes into the car and drove off to donate.

Ahhhh.  That felt good to get rid of some things that we will not be using again.

I just love getting things organized.

I took this picture of D when we got home from school.

I had taken off my scarf and left it on a kitchen stool.

Next thing I know, D is wearing it.

And looking adorable.

It's still my scarf, but something tells me she will try to abscond with it anytime she can get her hands on it.

potd #332.  Took this picture after I took my shower this morning.  The sunlight looked so pretty coming through the steamy window.  And you can faintly see E's handprint in the window.  She did that this morning when she came in to say "good morning".

Perfect Snowfall

Yesterday we had the perfect snowfall.

It snowed just about all day.

Pretty white flakes.

Sometimes small and sometimes they were great big flakes.

I just love the great big flakes.

And yet even though it snowed ALL day, all we got was about 2 1/2 inches.

The ground was warm, so the roads were just wet all day.

To me that is the perfect snowfall.

It is pretty and it doesn't mess up the driving conditions or affect school.

This morning the trees looked so pretty with snow clinging to the branches.

The sun was out, the sky was blue and there were a few clouds in the sky.

And the white of the snow against the blue sky was just breathtaking.

If only every snowfall we have this winter could be like the one we had yesterday.

potd #331.  I snapped this picture out our back door this morning.  I knew if I didn't take it then, it would be too late.  Sure enough, a few hours later and all the snow was melted.  Like I said, it was the perfect snowfall.

Press Here

Today I was in Barnes and Noble with my friends J and R.

We wandered through the kids book section.

J pointed out the cutest children's book I have seen in a long time.

It is called "Press Here" by Herve Tullet.

R and I read the whole book.

And we had so much fun reading it together.

There was lots of giggling and oohing.

I highly recommend finding it in a book store and reading it.

You will love it.

Guaranteed.

I will be giving it to everyone I know that has little ones or is about to have a little one.

potd #330.  Took this with my phone.  Wish it didn't have the glare on it.  Oh well.  Can't get every picture perfect.

Monday Snapshot

Early post tonight.

Hoping to do some online Christmas shopping done tonight.

And order my Christmas cards.

If I can get the above done tonight, I will be very happy.

Especially the cards.

First, it's showers and to bed for the girls.

Then I can get down to serious business.

potd #329.  E is really wishing that Hubby wasn't allergic to cats.  Here she is snuggling one of her piano teacher's new kittens.  The kitty is very sweet and snuggly.

Christmas Lights!

D had a birthday party to go to this afternoon from 5-6:45.

Hubby & E decided to go ice skating while D & I headed to the party.

Hubby took this pic of E while they were ice skating.

So cute.

I do believe that ice skates are going on the Christmas list.

Hockey skates, not figure skates.  Apparently hockey skates are better, according to Hubby.

I am most definitely not the expert on ice skates.

I will go with what Hubby says is best.

Anyhoo.

Since the girls friend M was also invited to the party, Ms' mom, my friend K, and I decided that we should ride to the party together.

Since the party was at a bounce house place, we dropped the girls off and had some time to ourselves to go and chat.

We had a great time.

And on the way home, we drove by a house that was all decked out for Christmas.

We had seen it on the way to the party and decided that we should most definitely stop by on our way home.

It was fantastic.

I don't think that this is even 1/2 the decorations/lights.

Amazing.

And more lights.

I can't even begin to imagine how long it took this family to set up all these lights.

We loved it.

And we all decided that we needed to come back with the rest of our families to see it again.

It just so happens that one of my favorite Chinese restaurants is very close by to this house.

I think the girls, Hubby & I will need to go out for Chinese one night and then do a drive by of this house.

Sounds like a great plan to me.

potd #328.  Here is D and M posing in front of the house.  They were a little skeptical of getting out of the car for me to take a picture of them.  But, they did it anyway.  Love it!