Lazy Days...and Bubbles

I have SO enjoyed the past few days since Christmas...and am SO happy that these are the days we have just before sending off 2009. We have slept in late (to a whopping 8:30AM), spent quality time with family members, crafted, created and eaten! I have even taken the time to start a book I wanted to read...It has been NICE.... I even got asked to sit down and play baby-dolls. That might have been the greatest moment of 2009 for me...

Comfort foods have added to our bliss this week...I made the BEST Mac-N-Cheese last night and we devoured it....it was delicious - and simple...My husband made a delicious Roasted chicken tonight and that was devoured too....No pictures because we all ate it so fast we didn't have anything to take a picture of! These are not unusual meals for us, but for some reason they just tasted so much better with the relaxed energy of our house.


I stood and watched in awe and contentment as my youngest jumped up and down for what seemed like an eternity over bubbles....lots and lots of bubbles. Each and every one that came out of the little machine made her more excited than the last. I just stood there cooking dinner, smiling from ear to ear. It was one of those moments when the little voice inside tells you to slow down and pay attention. .....it also told me to grab my camera so I could remember it when my memory fails me.....







Tomorrow we close out 2009...I can't believe we are wrapping up another year!?!

The Calm after the storm

...or Holiday whatever you want to call it.

The days prior to Christmas seem to have happened in a blur and the days since seem to be in a nice lazy haze.

Our area was blanketed in snow just before Christmas from the Blizzard of 09'...the first white Christmas in 20 years. I can't believe it was that long!!! Slightly detrimental to our business, but made for lots of fun!!

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We spent the Eve very casually with my mom, brother and stepfather..it was great. A few really good laughs and then off they went to their homes and off our children went to bed. A very special princess got her Orange Princess dress and Blue Witch hat...please note the enthusiasm when she opened them....(handmade by my mother)

Santa was VERY relaxed this year. He didn't go EXTREME with gift piles or wrapping...all very simple..

Christmas Day was wonderful! Presents, Breakfast ~ quick family visit with my grandfather and then home to spend the evening with friends.

Everyone got exactly what they wanted....

Xbox360 - and an asthma attack...not on the Christmas wish list, but we made it through...

A new phone....

A Nintendo DSlite

A Christmas Tree...
A cup, and candles for her marshmallows???....(plastic, battery operated)

We laughed so hard during dinner that I think I forgot to eat...however I remember laughing so hard that I choked so I must have had at least one bite. Then we played games into the WEEEEE hours of the morning.

It WAS FANTASTIC! One more look under the tree proved that we had all gotten exactly what we asked for! A terrific Christmas Holiday!

Crunch Time

3 Days until Christmas and it is crunch time around here! I am dedicating this whole day to "making stuff"...

Procrastination is my nemesis

I will be crafting until my fingers bleed which really wont be hard because they are so dry...lol.

I have knit 4 hats so far, and put lots of thought into the other gifts I will be giving.

I have also decided that if it can't be purchased at the local hardware store, liquor store or my store...your not getting it for Christmas at this point!

I braved the mall twice this year...that is two times more than I went in the past year and a half! I will NOT be going anywhere near that place again!

I will go to the bookstore...but none of those other place again! I went to Target last night...it was literally swarming with people who had a complete look of desperation in their eyes. It was crazy!!

OK..off to the craft room! I will take some pictures when I am done....hopefully.

Lets RE-Decorate!

9 Days before Christmas and our BIGGEST Christmas gift EVER is on its way!

HOWEVER!...this particular gift is causing us (me) to have to rearrange our entire living room and move our fully decorated Christmas tree....

What was I thinking?????

I was thinking that after YEARS of working hard my husband deserved a BIG treat!! And since I can't get him drafted to the major leagues, I settled with the next best gift.... A HUGE TELEVISION!

65".....GINORMOUS TELEVISION.....

I hope that he loves it forever.

I must love him forever because I want to get rid of every television in our house and then I go and buy him the biggest mama jama I could.

OK...I must go back to redecorating. I have even gone a little crazy and decided that I would go ahead and put up another tree....I love glitter and sparkle!! I am trying to keep it simple, but seriously how can you keep it simple when it comes to glitter and sparkle??????

PS: Watching QVC at the end of a VERY long day can cause you to make decisions like the one I made....but loving your husband and being grateful for his return from work every day can also lead to such decisions...hahaaa

10 Days and Counting!!

Tonight was Jacobs Winter Concert. It was so sweet seeing the kids up there singing their little hearts out... I was only able to get one very distant picture and I blinded the man in front of me in the process so I wasn't about to continue trying for a better one! I asked him to wait 20 minutes before driving....

Jacob sang three songs - no solos thank goodness - and the evening was over!

Lily wanted to know why there was so much singing and no popcorn?? They had seats like the movie theater but no popcorn! Her world was shattered....

I have started wrapping gifts and feel good about getting that done. I love to wrap! I get a little carried away with making sure everything coordinates...it is one of my favorite parts!!

I have to say though...I would love to receive these little goodies in the mail as an early Christmas present! 4 Kennedys and a Dog is doing a lovely little giveaway and I sure would like to win!!

Under way...

Christmas shopping, decorating and activities are well under way!
I love to see my house decorated for Christmas...soft white lights, greens and sparkly lovely things to look at!

We decorated our tree on Sunday night and had delicious Chinese food...I think a new tradition has been formed...and I was so excited about getting our tree done that I couldn't stop! I told my husband that I "NEEDED" to put up two more of our trees!! He gladly obliged and went to the garage to start the process....I am a theme girl. I love having different trees in different rooms. We have 5 at our shop and I was really feeling festive...I blame it on the MSG.

....by morning I had changed my mind and decided that ONE tree was just perfect this year!

Simple is ALWAYS nice!

I hope that your holidays are shaping up to be exactly what you want them to be!!

Speaking of "shaping up"! I have completed 3 hats so far! Not quite getting as much done as I had hoped for my handmade holiday, but I can still buy handmade!!!

Buying Handmade...

I have been searching Etsy for the past several days-nights-wee hours of the morning...I love Etsy..but there is so much to chose from that I am having a hard time making decisions.

So far; Artwork, yarn, pottery are all in my sights. I just NEED to make some decisions!

Hope your Handmade Holidays are off to a great start!

Blessings

...Tuesday was Lily's first day back to school after she quit. Yes, she quit...a month-and-a-half of Preschool was just too much for her.

We tried lots of things........to name a few..

Upon being told that she should go to school to meet friends, she told her father..."I don't need any friends Big Guy.." She declared one of our 60+ year old customers her best friend and his dog too....

After being encouraged to go to school so she could attend her field trip to the Pumpkin Patch, she responded...."I have pumpkins in my backyard, and b'sides...I got one from the Hardware store!"

I met with the teacher and the director of school and they suggested all sorts of things...one included somebody with the preface of "Specialist", being told that her father and grandmother were not allowed to drop her off anymore because they both had tearful-puppy eyed goodbyes...not a confidence booster for the child...Bottom line is that I have a very intelligent, almost 4 year old who has a pretty strong case of separation anxiety and spends a better part of her life and day in her very own coffee shop with lots of gifts and fun things and customers who come in just to see what she is up to that day!

We took the month of November off and decided that "with no other option" we would return to school on the first Tuesday of December.

There were LOTS of tears....back packs were thrown into the trash can....refusal to eat and clothes being taken off.... but in the end....

We made it! It was a BEAUTIFUL day! The Sun was shining and in the end I walked out of preschool with a HAPPY, skipping little girl who tried to scale the fence when she saw my car coming around the turn.

Thank you to God and all the powers of the Universe! One more blessing to add to my list..