Quick Documentation

The other day I was cleaning and found one of the many Christmas cards Daphne has made this season. This one in particular was for me.

Inside it read, "Mom, I love you more than deviled eggs and Christmas time"

Wow, how do I rate?! Glad to know she likes me more than her favorite appetizer.



On that note of recording funny things these girls say and do, The other night Mike got on Ruby's pretend phone and said, "Santa, Ruby is on the naughty list." Ruby walked away and in a low voice we heard her say back into her phone, (whispers...)"Santa, it's me Ruby. My daddy just kidding. Me no on naughty list"


Now, that one is at a fun age!

The Best Story of all

Tonight at our candlelight service I will have the privilege of reading the nativity story to a whole bunch of pajama-clad kids IN FRONT of the entire congregation. I've got butterflies already. I'm hoping it goes really well and that I remember it's not about if my voice sounds funny or if the crowd isn't even engaged. I am praying the little ones understand the significance of that little baby.

I created this slideshow, even though we decided to go with a normal power point. I couldn't let it go to waste though...so sit your kids down sometime around the computer and let them watch. I believe you can pause and read along:)

Create a free greeting card

A Fabulous Gift

I can't be lengthy here, cuz it's midnight and I need to start doing some wrapping.

But I have to just document that my sister gave me a wonderful gift this Christmas. She asked to take my girls for a night. I got to drop them off at 2ish today, and will pick em up tomorrow around noon. They were going to do some baking with her:) Oh my goodness, I so needed this!

I finished my shopping...two hours after entering Target's doors this afternoon.

Then I picked up take-out and sat down with Mike to eat, watch a movie and work on my Christmas cards. I'm almost done with them.

Now to start wrapping.

I figure even if I stay up til 2AM, I can sleep in a bit.

Thank you Lesley!!!

Baby It's Cold Outside (and a little sick one inside)

Maisie is still throwing up everybody. Last night at one point when she was laying in the middle of the hallway, bent over with stomach pain, she said, "mom, I think I am going to die"...and then in a quiet voice to she said, "oh, Jesus, please..." And then later when Mike and I were both laying with her after another round at the toilet, she said, "I just don't know what I would do without my family." Oh honey!

So far we've had to cancel a regular kids swap date, not attend Maisie's music program, miss out on Maisie's Christmas party at preschool today and I won't make Daphne's party, even though I planned and prepped it all and sent it all in a tub today with Daph. Needless to say, it's been a week out of my control.

It reminds me a little bit of the year before last when we had that BIG snowstorm and everything got canceled. In both situations, I felt God saying, "Wow, Stefanie you need to SLOW way down and stop DOING so much and concentrate on what matters most." SNOW and PUKE both are show stoppers!

We have spent a lot of time in front of the tv (something we previously gave up for advent but got reinstated in survival mode)...watching holiday movies, and listening to Christmas music, and me doing lots of laundry and dishes. We even still made our gingerbread houses...although I could tell Maisie was so not herself when she wanted me to do it for her and she didn't want to eat any of the candy!!!

It's not quite over, but I feel like it's FRIDAY and I made it!!!


Here's a little Maisie story that just happened on our way to take D to school. My good friend, Leah, made me a great Christmas cd, and the first song is "Baby it's cold outside". Today it started to play and Ruby said, "not this one mom"...to which Maisie responded, "I like it. It's about a girl who wants to go out in the snow, but her father won't let her". Ha! Even sick, she's crackin' me up!

Santa Trip Gone Sour

Tonight I took the girls to see Santa. It was a much anticipated event.

You see, we had actually planned to go last Thursday, but Daphne had the throw-up/24 hr bug. I hadn't planned for illness and it threw my perfectly planned advent calendar out of whack. I bounced back and switched things around and instead, we had a wonderful evening entitled, "Family Game Night - Christmas Style". They unwrapped a new Christmas Matching Game (it was a dollar one I found at Michaels) to kick off the nights' games. It's a cute little game - but goes fast with 4 people (Ruby and I were a team). Then we played Christmas Bingo. Find it here if you too want to play it~ http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/bingo1.asp Lastly, I put the easel in the middle of the living room floor and we played Christmas pictionary. The girls thought of their own subjects and did a really cute job of drawing. Maisie was the first to draw and when Daphne guessed correctly, she got very peeved and said, "Daphne cheated...she guessed it before I was done drawing"...she is our artist and had to finish all the details before stopping:)








So, back to today and a second attempt at Santa. It was going to have to be executed perfectly. We would leave when Daphne got home from school. I would pack snacks and drinks to avoid any costs besides gas. I even borrowed a couple Christmas cartoons for the long ride. We would have to be quick to get back for a 7pm meeting I had at church. Everything was going as planned until we arrived to the mall of choice. Maisie started complaining of her tummy hurting (this had happened this am too, but it seemed to go away). I was about to turn the van around and sadly call it quits, but her cramps seemed to wane and she said we could try.

I got them bundled up for the outdoor mall experience and we sailed right into a NO LINE Santa experience. We entered a cozy little house, complete with coloring tables, fireplace and candy canes and a Santa that could win prizes. They walked up to him and got their peppermint stick. Each took a turn telling him what they wanted for Christmas, but they seemed nervous and he wasn't great at engaging them. We were about ready to take a picture when Maisie's eyes got really big and she bent over in pain and started heaving. After throwing up once, I quickly got her outside, but didn't make it too far when she threw up A LOT more, right on the ramp up to the Santa House.

I had no wipes or anything. I had to borrow a passerby's and clean Maisie up the best I could. Then I put her on the outside bench with her candy cane to suck on, and went back in to apologize and get the other girls. I DID get a quick picture of them on Santa's lap as I kept my eye on Maisie out on the bench.



They had to close the Santa House temporarily and I explained and apologized to a couple families that had just showed up to visit.

We were only at the mall for a short time and we had to head straight back to the van.

Oh well. It's one memory I shan't forget. Not so merry, but I'll hold onto taking care of my little five year old for sure.

(in fact this post was composed in two parts, interrupted once by a crying little girl with a very bad tummy ache)

A Week of hot glue, late nights and unexpected blessings!

Today at our women's Christmas breakfast, I had the privilege of giving a "homemade gift" presentation. I promised the ladies that I would blog about it so that they could see up-close pictures and get more directions. I used Martha Stewart's website exclusively and she has great instructions and templates too. So hopefully I can leave the links here for everyone that wants them.

Everyone (45plus women) got one of these as their party favor:

Here's a picture of one:

This is how they looked at Martha's site:


http://www.marthastewart.com/article/cookie-cutter-ornaments?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/christmas-ornaments#slide_27

My favorite one:

I made one of these button wreath ornaments. (They are really easy and super cute!)



http://www.marthastewart.com/article/button-wreath-ornament?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/christmas-ornaments#slide_23

Here's some gingerbread baked right in a clean, recycled tin can. Fill the can 2/3 full and keep an eye on it baking...then after it cools you add the tissue paper and a string or twine and it's an adorable gift presentation. The gingerbread can then be sliced and powdered with sugar by the recipient.

Mine:

Martha's:

Do you remember when I blogged about these peppermint jars a couple years ago? I had to show the ladies this one. The contents are candy canes that have had the arch carefully cut off (so that they are just sticks) and carefully placed against the glass periphery of the bottom of the large mason jar. Add tissue paper in the middle so that the sticks stand up straight. There should be no gaps between the sticks. Then layer marshmallow jelly beans, and lastly wrapped peppermint discs. The jar lids were previously spray painted red and left over night to dry, and to finish the presentation, wrap a red and white ribbon around the jar.



I found this cute way to display and give your holiday cookies. The sleeves are cheap, and Martha Stewart has great templates for making on adhesive paper. I used ribbon and computer labels instead to decorate mine. What a fun party favor, or quick thank you gift etc etc....


http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=f5ef3a6f5c470110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&backto=true&backtourl=%2Fphotogallery%2Fholiday-clip-art-crafts#slide_6



I also showed them creative ways to wrap gifts. The empty wrapped boxes also served as the table centers at the breakfast.

Here's some ideas for letting the kids make wrapping paper:



How mine turned out:


I found the plain, glossy white wrapping paper at Walmart in the regular wrapping section - it's great for paint, handwriting practice and marker pictures. Also old calendars are fun for wrap too!


Here's an idea for a whimsical present topper:
http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/bows-ribbons-gift-toppers#slide_22




This is a great way to decorate your gift and make it personal for the one receiving it - you might even get away with a gift card this way:

Martha's staff used recycled Christmas cards:


I used pretty cardstock:




http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/gift-wrapping-ideas-for-kids#slide_10

I love this classic holiday look...I used sweet red and white ribbons and a bit of hot glue. I used the plain white roll again and all red wrap too in that same section at Walmart. Since I had to wrap empty boxes, I think I may save them for decorations under my tree or around the house! Okay, I actually ran out of empty boxes and had to wrap cereal, our leather furniture cleaning kit and some other things that will have to be unwrapped:(



This last gift is possibly my favorite. It's a natural, home made body scrub. The recipe is 2 cups of Epsom salts or sugar, 1 cup carrier oil (I used grapeseed oil from Winco's shelf), and 8 drops essential oil (from our health food store - I chose peppermint and grapefruit. Oh, and one drop food coloring too. Once again, the following link has templates for labels....I used sheets of clear labels and cut mine out. They turned out super duper adorable!

These are mine:



Now Martha's:

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/natural-beauties-body-scrub?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/our-25-most-popular-gifts#slide_3

Just in case you don't know what "essential oils" look like (and they are spendy - 7 to 10 bucks each...but last a long time)


This was a LONG week for me. I did all the above, plus the girls' advent activities, subbed two half days, have a little internet job right now too , and entertained/cooked in my home Friday night. Did I add laundry and dishes? I really thought I might NOT survive it. But I enlisted some friends to pray, took one day at a time and tried to breathe. Mike was super supportive and helped a lot too! I really had a fantastic week - God covered me for sure. I did only get 4 hrs of sleep the last two nights in a row, but even that was blessed with Hallmark Christmas movies, and a girlfriend "night owl" neighbor who texted back and forth with me in those late hours. Even now, my girls are all parceled out- an unexpected surprise and I'm all ALONE doing this lengthy blog post. God is good.

Now, I may take a LONG WINTERS NAP....and btw, I picked up these little treasures at the health store. I leave you with a picture of this newest discovery of mine:

Motivational

This dress makes me want to eat lettuce and run on my treadmill.
I found it at a great site on my girlfriend Darci's website...it's almost affordable if I had 69.99 to spend on a dress.

Do you girls love it too?

Advent Season (days 1, 2 and 3)

This year, along with many other moms I know, I'm being more intentional with teaching the girls the true meaning of Christmas and also including lots of traditional holiday fun too. We actually haven't even decorated and hung the official advent pockets yet because life has been TOO busy for my liking, but I have stuck true to starting Advent Season:).

So on day one the girls unwrapped this fun toy:



I should have bought it years ago because Daphne is a little past playing with it, but Maisie and Ruby adore it. Plus in searching for a picture to show you, I found out there are more pieces you can buy so I'm excited to add to it next year:) The best thing I did was play with them that day and interject all the real things that happened that special day. I want them to hold the angel and say, "To you a King is born!" What a teaching tool if you help them with it!

On the second day, we waited til after dinner to break out our first candy canes and discuss what they mean and watch The Legend of the Candy Cane together as a family. Maisie learned the word staff. We also have the book and will read it another day to reinforce this message:)



On the third day in this journey leading up to Jesus' birth, I told them that this was our day of "visiting". Just like the shepherds and wise men did that special day, we were going to visit some loved ones. I took Daphne out of school early and we headed to my G and G's house for lunch and play. They are 83 and 82 and so healthy and pleasant to be with. Grandma makes Daphne's favorite meal - tuna fish sandwich, complete with ruffles, pickles, and cheese and summer sausage sliced up real pretty and crystal light. Of course there were chocolates and jelly beans in crystal dishes that they can't keep their little hands out of! They already were completely decorated for Christmas - even outside lights. Can you believe their health?! I'm in awe everytime we visit. And the best part is that when we leave and I start to clean up the girls' messes, my Grandma always says, "Oh don't do that....we'll do that when you leave, it's no problem." Plus there's the handing out of dollars from Grandpa in return for a goodbye hug. I love them so much.

Then we headed to my other 80 plus year old Grandma's house a little drive away. We took our favorite American Girl movie (Samantha) and watched it all snuggled around Grandma's living room. She made us popcorn and again the chocolate came out. My girls were in sugar heaven. They all left with a treasure from Grandma, and mine was a full heart for sure. We awed over farm houses all decorated for Christmas on the dark ride home and listened to Christmas music on the radio.

I loved our day of "visiting" the most so far. You have got to do it with your kids, even if it's to a care home because relatives are far away.

Now my hope is that we'll get to the "decking of our halls" this weekend. First I have to stop blogging and get to cleaning!

Thanks to Dad

In no specific order here's some of the best pictures from my family's Thanksgiving beach trip. It was amazing and made for many special memories:

2 turkeys on the traeger bbq turned out so yummy - we cooked all day...

Dance Party USA

Uncle George brought 2 Ipads and the kids took turns being engrossed in fun games!

I held this little guy a lot all weekend - Mr. Lincoln is 10 months

More cooking - but did I say yet that my sisters killed me in a crazy workout Thanksgiving day?
There was even sprinting hills - man was I sore!

Ruby loves her littlest cousin and is now okay if we someday have a baby boy.

Why not add homemade macaroni and cheese to our calories that day?

Daphne made place mats for all 8 kids:)

Our photogenic Emerson...(did I tell you we took 7 kids to Tangled?!)

Sorry Ruby!

The living area was gianormous...

Meghann and Lincoln

They are so much louder when we ride in the truck and they are right behind our ears....eek!

Our beautiful rental...

Lots of beautiful homes all around us...

Mr. Cole who sang all the chapters in the Bible to us at one point. He's five but heading to either college or Jedi school next year....

It was a blessed time. My dad would have been so proud of his grandkids. I'm so sad he's missing so much.