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!

An Apple Today

Is Applesauce, Apple Tart, Apple Pie, Apple Butter.......tomorrow.

I grew up on a farm and there are so many memories associated with the seasons and one of my favorites (I say that alot...) was always Fall. The colors of the leaves, the way the horses started to settle and the change in crops...empty fields from summer crops and acres of dry cornstalks...Homecoming Dinner and applesauce....pounds and pounds of applesauce! I have been dying to take the kids to pick apples and can some homemade goodness!

Sunday was our day. We woke up to the most beautiful day after the terrible rain the day before! We hit the road and headed to a pick your own farm... It was about an hour drive for us and we got to see the most beautiful fall foliage. The trees were just alive with color!

Lily of course donned her Princess Dress and 1" heeled dress up shoes...what else do you wear to the fields?...


And after we purchased the biggest bag of popcorn I had ever seen we headed out to the orchards.


There were rows and rows of apples....Red, Yellow, Green and every color in between. We made our way home with over 70lbs of apples and I can't wait to eat every bit of them!

The Princess tired of walking and rode for a bit.

Bree is so proud of this apple - it was HUGE!My kids were like speed pickers! My husband and I joked that if our kids were around when my uncle was farming our land he would never have had to stop!

And for a little more nostalgia.....

My first job at the ripe old age of 13 was at my uncles produce stand just like this. I get a little sad when I see them empty at the end of the season because as much as I love Fall, an empty stand means all those delicious summer vegetables are gone!

They're Stalking me...

I have a weird fear - ridiculously -nonsensical (yes that is a word to me) - serious fear - of Squirrels. I know plenty of people who think they are just soooo cute...but not me. Sometimes I think, OK, maybe they are a little cute....and then I see them gnawing on a nut and I revert back to the fear thing.

How? or Why? You might be asking....simple..my mother did it...she made me terrified of them! She used to tell me that if I went to the edge of our yard, which was close to the corner of the main road in our neighborhood the squirrels would get me. They would bite me....there you have it...fear implanted in my young little brain!!

Yes, I know that I should be able to not be scared of a furry little creature, but lets face it. They can be frightening. We have all seen Chevy Chase's Christmas movie...that squirrel came flying out of that tree with vengeance! And what about those flying squirrels?? I have seen documentary film on them...they are flippen scary! What about how they run towards the road and then head back to the side and then back into the road...taunting you...are you going to swerve or are you going to hit me and if you hit me won't you feel horrible for the rest of the day!! And if you could see them running about in my back yard, up and down the trees...I promise you I actually saw one throw another off a tree! Promise you....

So why this rambling rant about squirrels??? Well this morning when I opened the blinds...there one was sitting right in front of me! Scared me to death!! Then one of the first Etsy shops I went to this morning...more squirrels...and another...squirrels!!!

I have to admit...I do think these little squirrels are pretty cute. I don't think I want to eat my eggs out of them, but they are very cute.

And these might appear to be harmless....but look closely, they look a little mischievous...

I hope that BROOKLNYrehab doesn't mind me showing you her cute little squirrels....maybe I need a little rehab over this squirrel thing!

And check this guy out...he is quite fetching, but I think you'll understand why he frightens me a bit! I mean, he is after all the King of Squirrels!!!

It's Official...my childhood, whack...

Over the weekend we had an extension of the holiday when my uncle - my FAVORITE uncle, and his daughter, my cousin came to visit. Along with him, two of his oldest childhood friends and their wives...who were new to the grouping came for dinner. After their visit, and all the great stories from the past that left us in stitches....my sides hurt from laughing so hard! It made me realize a few things...besides the fact that my childhood was pretty great, it was totally whack and not normal!!! All the while though, I thought it was....

Between my mother being a single mom before it was "the norm", spending weekends with my two sets of grandparents (both VERY different...one would take me to the theater and one would fill my swimming pool with minnos and soft crabs...), and my uncle (who had a bright red Afro...I loved it) and his friends being ever present in my youth, I am surprised I made it out alive! My mother always says "you survived!!!....." I remind her that it is survival of the fittest out here!

I am not kidding you! The stories that I have under my belt are all true and all a little crazy!! We joke about this at the shop, when situations arise we always say "there is a story behind that...and there always is..." I was reminded of this tonight when I was reading this hysterical blog post....which reminded me of a story....a personal one...I am sure you will get a chuckle, so I will share....when I was younger we had horses, and we also had large boxwood bushes which sparrows apparently like to make a nest in....not a scientific statement just an observation! So, one night on the way back from the barn we were walking past one of the larger boxwood bushes when a small sparrow flew out and flew RIGHT INTO MY MOTHERS HAIR!!! I am not lying...right into her hair! My mother went ballistic...she was freaking out!! Between the screaming, laughing and all the in between I am pretty sure I peed my pants! I also am pretty sure that I was scarred for life, SCARRED!! I am NOT a fan of those fine feathered friends. I also like the bird decor...but not the real thing.

Here are just a few that top the list...I will expand on them some day.

1. Fell out of a moving car...mother kept driving. Swears she was in shock!
2. My mother tried to bring one of our horses INSIDE THE HOUSE because she felt it was too cold outside!
3. Had a Praying Mantis pod/nest hatch on the radiator in my room, woke up COVERED in them!
4. My childhood home kitchen being totally decorated with Crayon drawings by my mothers friends.
5. Read some previous post's on the Christmas tree experiences.
6. Of course the bird in the hair...
There are so many more....

Now, I don't know about you...but I notice that some of the funniest memories are the result of personal injury, trauma or drama (mental or physical). Either mine or somebody else's.... I am not sure that is normal???? I also feel that this has led to my slightly sarcastic sense of humor...

Hi Alert People....High Alert!!

We are under siege right now with the Stomach Flu. The Princess spent the entire night puking every 20 minutes...it was horrible!!! The hubby and The Beauty have already had it this week and seem to have some lingering stomach cramps from it. Of course we need to have this happening 6 days before Christmas!!! I knew it was coming yesterday because at the shop she kept having these weird little burps and saying her tummy hurt. Every time I picked her up I was thinking...Please don't throw up on me...I don't want to be thrown up on....
Last night I was bent on getting my mantle done and my Nativity scene up....I got it done and then within the last second of placing the last sheep in the manger....Thar she blows.......

DISGUSTING.....

Man, I was thankful and regretting my wood floors at the same time! My poor husband walked in from basketball practice with the Brawn and I was standing in my panties and a tank top. He was a little confused!!

If The Brawn gets it we are all doomed. We all know the plan, but it is so frustrating to know that we could potentially be in the hospital for Christmas!! I have my papers for the ER and I pulled my tiny little bag of staples from the closet....it is like having your bags packed for having a baby!! Only not as much fun! And, honestly...I am freaking out right now about the whole situation!!!!

So, If I don't get this wrapping done - like RIGHT NOW - I am doomed!!! Even doing a simple Christmas I LOVE to do special touches on all the packages. It is another one of my favorite parts of Christmas. Some people have fond memories of baking cookies, not me...lots of cursing included in my "baking" memories. I do however love wrapping! I will give you a flashback moment....

When I was little, my grandmother who was the original Martha Stewart, wrapped EVERY present in beautiful paper with real ribbon bows and beautiful name tags! Each and every one was a present in itself. None of this gift bag stuff!! I always had the job of "put your finger right there..." I am surprised that I even have a finger left...lol.

So today I spent some part of the day making little pom-poms for some presents. It wasn't quite as successful as I thought! Who knew that pom-poms could be so difficult!!! Maybe it was the four little helpers I had?? I had this cute little idea of Kraft paper with red yarn pom-poms hanging from it....

Tree Flashback

As promised here is another story about a Tree. I know that you have been waiting so patiently...lol.


First I want to show off a set of adorable Vintage brush trees that I picked up for The Princess's dollhouse. They are adorable if you ask me, but then again I bought them! They were even more adorable with there $2 price tag!! I plan to put them in the living room of her dollhouse. I must admit that I haven't even begun painting her dollhouse!! It might end up being a birthday present at the rate I am going now! I am almost done with the little house we are making for my cousin's son, but not so much for The Princess!



OK, Tree story.....This story is only funny if you think about that Christmas song where the people are all losing their cool. One guy is complaining about a hangover, another guy is losing it over tangled lights, etc. It is very tongue and cheek with plenty of Holiday frustration...I always laugh when I hear it or even think about it!

My parents divorced when I was VERY little so my mom was always trying to make it on her own. She tried really hard! How we ended up with particular tree I couldn't begin to tell you?!? To be honest with you I don't remember even having trees at our house, house, when I was really little because we always went out and got the one at my Grandparents house! So truly, I don't even know why we ended up in this situation?? But anyway...one year we had this tree...I don't know even know where the darn thing came from...? It was a pretty little tree. She had spent way too much money on these really beautiful ornaments and she was really working hard on the whole deal, know what I mean?

Everything started out really cute...a Mommy & Daughter moment if you will...but things quickly went downhill when she tried to get the tree to stand "straight" in that dag-on little tree stand. You know the ones...little red bowl with three green legs. They always seem ridiculously small compared to the overall size of the tree! It just wouldn't stay "straight"....she would get it in there and it would be fine for a few minutes and then when we turned our backs to get the ornaments ready....it would start leaning again. She would get it back in place and then...leaning again...

This went on for a few go-arounds....I could see that my poor mom was on the brink. I thought she might lose it! When everything seemed to be "straight", we set out again to decorate! Thank goodness...we needed a break in the tension that was taking over our little tree moment!

We finished that without the tree leaning to the left or right during the entire decorating process!! Success!!! It was quite beautiful. We had a moment....


Then, in the blink of an eye.....TIMBER!!!!


The entire tree came down with one big Crash!! The crash was followed by a scream, a few choice words, and a few tears! Maybe more than a few tears!!


My poor mother officially lost her cookies.... Now, you might think this isn't such a funny story, but it really is....because at this point my mother disappeared from the living room, glass ornaments crunchy beneath her feet, and set out to find "tools"!! I don't even know how long it took her to find the tools of her choice but before I knew it the tree had been NAILED to the wall. Yep, NAILED to the wall!! It happened so fast I couldn't believe it! I was stunned....I just remember thinking...."Uh-O..."

I remember sitting on our couch watching TV and only looking at the tree out of the corner of my eye, like I was afraid to make "eye contact" with the darn thing! Poor pathetic little tree with its random surviving ornaments....nailed to the wall!

At the time it wasn't so funny, but now....many years later we Laugh and Laugh about it. The most ironic part of it was the only "pretty" ornament that truly survived was a Clown, and we both hate clowns! I don't know why she bought those darn things!! She jinxed the tree....lol!


Nice try Mom....you definitely gave us a memory to last a lifetime!!

A True Tree Story....

This is one of those stories that has become a family legend....it is really funny...so if you can make it through the sap (no pun intended) in the beginning I promise that you will get a chuckle!

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I am going to share some of my favorite Tree stories. Plus, later I am going to post a really cute Tree Christmas card that you can make. It takes a little bit of work but it is really cute!!

Tree story - legend - started in 1980, it was the first Christmas after my Grandfather died. He was the nucleus of our family....literally the glue that kept everyone together. He died in September, very suddenly and my Grandmother did not handle it well at all....who does??....So that Christmas it was even more important to my Mom and Uncles to continue with the family tradition of going out into the woods to cut it down the right tree as a family and bring it back to my Grandmother. Christmas was a spectacular time of year in our family....it was always the greatest!! Beautiful decorations everywhere...wreath making parties with our extended family, Christmas parties...it was just wonderful!

We bundled up, it was snowing, we all got on the trailer and my Uncle Breen drove the tractor into the far corner of one of the front fields where we always found the most "beautiful" trees. It was truly a BEAUTIFUL moment....at least in my little 7 year old mind....

We found a tree, a tree that was literally a tree within a tree. The part of the tree that we wanted was at the top of this one particular tree...does that make any sense?? I loved it, it looked like it was the "perfect" tree. A BIG, FULL bushy Christmas Tree!

Here is where the fun begins....

My uncles set out at this point to cut down the top portion of the tree without cutting down the entire tree. Why they did it this way I don't know??? Maybe they didn't want to be wasteful??? I just don't know, but it sure was funny.....There was a lot of cursing, a teeny bit of name calling (I never said we were the Waltons), but in the end a lot of laughing!

They get the tree down, get it on the trailer and then we head back to the house. It was really one of those picture perfect moments....bringing the tree back to The Big House for my Grandmothers approval....what we were to do with it if she didn't approve? I don't know? But anyway...it was picturesque!

Now, I am not sure if this has ever happened to you, but those darn trees never seem to look so big out there in the fields! (Mistake #1)

I was only 7 at the time so I was doing a lot of "over seeing" of the following events. Soaking it all in....
Once we got the tree off the trailer my Uncles thought it was too tall, so they cut a chunk off the bottom (Mistake #2).... Up to the house we go only to realize that it wouldn't fit through the door. Now, we didn't have "small" doors, we had big huge 200 year old plantation doors....that tree wouldn't fit for anything! So, they decided to cut off some of the branches...from the inside of the tree of course! (Mistake #3). A few branches come off....back for a second attempt through the door....no luck....a few more branches, more cursing....some whispering, etc. Do you see where I am going with this??? (These become the mistakes where I start to lose count....) It just got worse from there....

Once the tree is finally in the house, they put it in the stand which sat in between the double doors of the living room and dining room, only to realize that the tree is "too short"!! So, out of the stand it comes and my Uncles NAIL a piece of the chunk back onto the bottom of the tree!!!

We now switch from mistakes to secrets - secrets that I am supposed to keep FOR-EV-ER at the risk of upsetting my Grandmother! LOL!

The tree goes back into the stand and of course it doesn't stand straight, how can it? We have to tie the tree between the doors to stabilize it. This just about puts my Grandmother right on her ear...if she only knew what else was going on while she was in the kitchen! After the tree is up and stabilized, some rather bare spots in the tree become very apparent.

The stress of said bare spots became very intense....never fear...there are still plenty of branches laying on the ground outside!!! So, you guessed it....my Uncles, who are literally like Frick and Frack at this point, retrieved the branches and started putting that tree back together like a puzzle. You know, a puzzle that requires hammer and nails! More whispering, more cursing...I can remember thinking...this is not good, this is not good at all!!! They mightaswell have just busted out the duct tape!

After the tree was all nailed back together and the lights were on and I was SWORN to secrecy, the decorating process started. That was always so much fun, beautiful BIG ornaments and tinsel! I was (so were my Uncles and Mother) sweating bullets the entire time worrying that my Grandmother would notice the branches that were NAILED back into the tree! Luckily the tree was such a puff ball that decorating went off without a hitch...shhheeew! I am sure that my eyes were as big as saucers through this whole thing. I have NO POKER FACE!!!

As the Christmas season progressed, that poor tree tried to stay green, but as you can imagine some "parts" of the tree just didn't seem to drink as much water as others! There were dead branches in the middle and top of the tree mixed in with the beautiful green ones that were drinking water to their little hearts contentment!! It was a rough site by the time New Years came. It was a site, truly a site...just not quite as picturesque!!!

Every time I would see my Grandmother coming in with a pitcher of water for the tree I had to leave the room. I was worried that I would crack under pressure....I think the most commonly used and heard phrase that year was "....that damn tree......" I wish we had video of the event, that would have been worth some money. We all kept the "secret" for YEARS....and I mean YEARS!!! It wasn't until I was an adult that we finally told my Grandmother what had happened to that tree. She was a little angry at first...I think because of the amount of effort she put into the "watering process"...but then she laughed right along with the rest of us.

That was the most memorable Tree story of my entire childhood. Now there are other memories in there....but that one is to never be topped!