Squirrely Gifts

I just love me some theme gifts, so when we decided to give our cousins The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game (Cozy's fave!) , I had to come up with some accessories for it.

...like finger puppet kits....

...and a redecorated olive jar....

(We don't actually recommend feeding peppermint m&ms to squirrels....just squirrely little kids.)

...and squirrel earrings. 

(I know. They are some pretty weird-looking squirrels, but you try and find squirrel earrings. They're the lazy man's version of a Ms. Frizzle dress.)

And that was my bizarre theme of the year.

Ah, Christmas

Leading up to Christmas, we had so many obligations. The kids had school clear up thru the 21st. Bleh. Whatever happened to two weeks off for Winter Break? 

Once the weekend hit, we were all very determined to be as lazy as humanly possible.

Lazily hanging out with Grandparents.

Lazily watching movies.

Lazily hanging out on the computer.

...and then Christmas hit and we had to get off of our rears and play with the little kids.

Cozy got her coveted no-bake cake pop kit from Grandma and Grandpa R.

Sound gross to you too?

3-year-olds think they're yummy, so we non-baked them together.

James was super-thrilled with his eagle talon castle (which had more bells and whistles than I knew before I bought it) and repeating catapult....

...and the Hess helicopter.

They kept him busy for a while, but Tony still had to help him assemble his giant lego stuff...

(and those are root beer bottles - just for the record)

...and make a plaster baking soda volcano.

And now I hope we're back to lazy again.

Sewing Lessons

Sofia's beginner sewing machine has been in a closet since we moved in....Cozy's closet. She noticed it and wanted it. I just kept telling her, "Sorry, it's Sofia's." ....trying to put off sewing with a 3-year-old. Finally, Cozette asked for the cute little machine in front of Sofia, who was happy to pass it on. Dang.

Now my 3 littles are learning to do a bit of sewing (with varying degrees of enthusiasm).

Cozette is thrilled.

She was working the pedal and lifting and lowering the foot, while I helped guide the fabric.

She was so proud.

(Isn't it fun seeing a tiny person concentrate on a task? I don't know why. It just is.)

...jumping for joy...

...and giving the beloved pillow a squeeze.

The pillow James made:

Cute little toothless guy. James loves working the sewing machine - anything mechanical.

Jonny (my only kid who got to use the iron during our sewing lessons) pretending to sleep on his creation.

That was fun. I think we're going to make tote bags next. ....and Jonny would probably appreciate it if I bought World of Geekcraft.

Lilium

One of my amazing children:

Sofia was so disappointed last year when she didn't make it through the "international night" auditions at her school. After hearing the acts that did make, we decided her song selection just wasn't international enough. This year she hedged her bet with a latin song from a japanese anime. Top that!

I was so nervous for her (because, in her shoes, I probably would have got on the stage...and then vomited.) She was wonderful.

Wonderful enough to draw lip-syncing accusations.

:)

Ok. If the video isn't playing for you (like it isn't for me), simply put the mouse in the upper, left-hand corner of the video box and click on "Sofia singing". That will take you to the youtube channel, where it will play instantly...instead of not at all.

Just a Crack

I dropped my ipod on a hard tile floor. Well, I didn't actually drop it. I was holding it by the case, and it fell out. I think I can just have the glass replaced, because it's still totally functional. 

Of course, I did have to hide it, to keep kids from picking off little pieces of glass.

So, between that and my charger, I'm looking pretty awesome.

Tony calls it my post-apocalypse technology. 

A Handmade Gift

I figured out part of my organizing problem earlier this year. For some reason, I didn't feel like I could put projects away until they were finished. As it turns out....things are more likely to get finished if I put them away neatly, in an accessible place. So, several months ago, I got 6 projects to a "put-away-able" stage, hung them neatly on hangers, and put them in my closet.

And, what do you know, when my friend had her baby, it was super easy to pull one blanket out and finish it up. Finally - a handmade gift!

I used my walking foot to quilt some simple zigzags and stripes.

...and, not to brag, but I just love these fabrics. Cute boy stuff is so hard to find.

With some of the prep-work already done, I even had time to hand-stitch the binding. yay!  

Happy day.

Christmas Cheer

I'm enjoying Christmasy Stuff!

Adorable wrapping paper from World Market! Deer and cuckoo clocks! Have they got my number or what!?

Pfeffernusse and Zimt Sterne! (I love the collection of German cookies that the commissary carries!)

Extra bonus: Tony hates them, so there's minimal sharing required.

I've also been gorging myself on Rold Gold peppermint-dipped snowflakes. SO GOOD! So, if you see me and think I'm getting a little thick around the middle, no, I am not pregnant....just enjoying Christmas food.

I thought I'd love anything that involved white chocolate peppermint, but Tony put that theory to the test and totally busted it.

Disturbing. However, if they had actually been dipped in white chocolate, I'll bet they would have been good.

Bleh.

Some Things Never Change

Sofia was my co-pilot/dj for our drives to and from Tennessee.  

Kitty ears: She made them as favors for her 9th or 10th (this fact is somewhat disputed) birthday party. Recently found them again. Wears them to school. (She claims it's a nod to anime, but we've always known she's a little bit catty.)

Tony wasn't able to join us until the day before Thanksgiving and ended up driving his truck. (He chickened out of the whole Greyhound Bus thing at the last minute.) 

I was super grateful to be caravaning on the way home. We stopped for one of our many, many potty breaks, and the car wouldn't start back up. The battery had come loose and discharged itself. Boo. 

Lesson: Don't let Jiffy Lube do work on your car. 

Luckily, Tony was parked right there next to me, charged us up and we were back on the road!

I won't be surprised ten years from now, when Cozette starts wearing a unicorn horn and mane to school... ...because some things just never change.

Horses

After leaving Sofia to babysit Cozy while the rest of us went to ride go-karts (3-story go-kart course!), I felt I owed her a little something special. I told Missy I was going to take Sofi horseback riding. Missy and Lizzy wanted to come...and it snowballed from there. :) Even Grandpa came! 

Sofi was hoping for a paint, but Harley was a nice horse too.

Annika got the spunky horse that wanted to eat grass, not stay in line, and nipped at the other horses when they tried to share the water trough.

It was a nice way to spend some time outside....and I loved seeing the kids enjoying something so novel for them.

Favorite quote of the day goes to Wesley: "Did my horse poop yet? Tell me when my horse poops!"

The Lost Sea in Company

A lot of the cousin hadn't been to the Lost Sea. Rick (again!) got a trip together. :)

We had a reserved time slot that we missed by....a while. I may or may not have gotten lost. 

When finally made it there, another family was also just arriving. They had a better excuse than me - rear ended by a motorcycle cop. (Better than the other way around, right?!)...so we would've missed our "reservation" either way. Whew!

While we were killing time, waiting for the giant school group that went ahead of us, some genius bought fries....

...no idea who, but that didn't stop us from helping eat them. 

My SIL Missy went in the general store and bought a giant bag of dirt. It doesn't sound like it would keep kids from 3-17 occupied, but they sifted and panned....

...and sorted and compared....

....and were super-focused on their treasures until it was time to go reclaim our place in line.

Sofi wasn't thrilled that James wanted to be Ryan's buddy. Stop fighting over James!

...and finally we were down the tunnel!

Our ubertolerant tour guide (we had a lot of questions and remarks from kids! :) didn't realized we were a family group until the end of the tour - when Sofia had established that he was an awesome homeschooled Dr. Who fan. Funny thing: same guide we had last April! I asked Sofia if she got his number.

Us minus Uncle Jon (the photographer). ...and then we kept with tradition and invaded the A&W Drive-In. :)